Mary Katherine Overland Springs
by Queen Arabia
Summary: I knew I'd meet the Spirit of Spring eventually; I just didn't expect her to be my sister. Takes place roughly 4 years after the events of RotG. Spoilers inside. Updated! (This time, I did draw the picture :D)
1. Bringer of Spring

Baby Tooth fluttered around Tooth Palace excitedly. Jack Frost was coming to visit her! Sure, he came pretty much every week, and he was technically coming to see his memories again, but that didn't dim her excitement in the slightest. It never did.

Suddenly hearing commotion in another part of the Palace, she sped in that direction, only to find the disturbance was not made by the frost spirit, but by a small girl with shoulder length brown hair and big brown eyes. She was attempting to attract the mini-faries attention, and Baby Tooth rolled her eyes. Couldn't the girl see they were busy? She darted down to the girl and began tugging on the hem of her well-worn dress, trying to make her leave the others alone.

"Hello, little fairy. Can you tell me where the Tooth Fairy is? I've heard she can help me with something..." The girl's voice was soft, and oddly familiar. Baby Tooth moved to hover in front of the girl's face for a moment. Where had she seen that expression? She'd never seen this girl before, but she knew those eyes! And the girl's nose looked just like... she didn't know.

She should take her to Tooth; she'd know who this girl was. So Baby Tooth flitted away, stopping to allow the girl to catch up now and then.

* * *

It had been a good day for Jack Frost. He'd brought winter up the east coast, played with Jamie and his friends, and annoyed the Easter Kangaroo into throwing a boomerang at him. Jack froze it to his paw afterwards.

As he swooped into Tooth Palace, he momentarily wondered where Baby Tooth was. But no matter, he wanted to see his memories again.

He spotted Tooth hovering near the North American spire. She seemed to be talking to someone, but Jack couldn't see who. He drifted down to stand on the walkway on the other side of the tower.

"...You sure you want to see your memories? The last ones are always so sad, sometimes, it's better not to know." Tooth sounded rather worried, and Jack knew she was saying this because her own memories were tragic, as all spirit's memories were.

"No, I need to see this. I need to remember. The moon, he said, he said to seek out my memories, I need to know..."

Jack _knew_ that voice.

"Well, if Manny said so, I suppose you do need them. Here. Just press on the diamond and they will start." Jack slowly walked around until he could see the owner of the voice. He nearly had a heart attack. His sister. That was his _sister_!

She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring intently at a memory box he knew must be her own, and Jack realized with a start that she was watching her memories.

He was so focused on his sister that he didn't notice Tooth turn around.

"Jack! You can't be here now! That's the bringer of Spring! You'll kill her!" She shrieked, and Jack tore his eyes away from the girl, amused.

"The Spirit of Spring?" He asked, hardly believing his ears. His sister was the Spirit of Spring! "And _why_ would I kill her?"

Tooth sputtered. "She's Spring! You're Winter, wouldn't you.._ freeze_ her or something? I don't know!" Jack laughed.

"Have I ever frozen one of you guys? I have better control of my powers than that, besides, I would never dream of harming her."

"You've frozen Bunny. And she melts your work, right? Wouldn't you be mad at her for that?" She wondered.

"I froze Bunny on purpose, and... I guess I was annoyed at her, until now... Now I know who she is." Jack answered, thoroughly confusing Tooth.

"What do you mean?"

"I could never be mad at my sister. My _human_ sister, who I haven't seen in three hundred years... I don't know how she became a seasonal spirit, I'm just happy that I can see her again. Um, how long will she be in that trance?"

"Your sister... So that's why she seems so familiar! She should snap out of it soon, she... didn't live very long." Tooth said sadly.

"What!? But I died to protect her! I wanted her to live a long happy life, not... Wait. What year did she... become a spirit, exactly?" Jack asked, furrowing his brows.

"I don't know, Jack. You'll have to ask her," Tooth said, gesturing to the girl. Then her eyes widened. "You DIED!?"

"Oh, uh... Yes?" Jack flashed her a sheepish grin. "May have fallen into a frozen pond while skating... But I'm okay now!"

Before Tooth could reply, Mary's eyes flew open.

"I had a brother! I had a brother... He saved me, Toothiana, I-" She stopped, seeing the winter spirit.

Jack stepped forward with a smirk, arms crossed, and sternly voiced words he knew by heart. He'd said the same thing many times to this same girl, long ago. "_Mary Katherine Overland Burgess_, I want to know what happened _right_ now, or I'll, um... I... I won't play hopscotch with you tomorrow!"

For a moment, Mary just stared, mouth open, as her brother laughed.

"If you leave your mouth open like that, dear sister, you'll get flies in it," said Jack, eyes twinkling. "I've missed you."

Mary sprang into motion. "Jack!" She ran toward him and he picked her up, twirling her around just as he always did. "But, oh, Jack! How are you- I missed you too, Jack! But you died, how are you here, Jack? Are you a ghost?"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, little lady! I'm not a ghost, the Moon brought me back. If I was a ghost I couldn't do this," Jack said, poking his sister's nose. She gasped.

"Jackson Overland Burgess! You know I don't like it when you do that! Why are your hands so cold, anyway?" Jack hesitated slightly.

"Well... Ever heard the expression, 'Jack Frost nipping at your nose?' That's me. I'm Jack Frost. And I just nipped your nose." He grinned.

Then he looked into her eyes, serious now. "Now, Mary, tell me why you're a spirit now, and when that happened, and I'll go pester Father Time until he lets me go back in time to make it better, okay?"

"Jack, I died... Because you weren't there to make me happy. In the spring. I didn't eat, or sleep, or anything after you fell through..." She said in a small voice. "And the moon brought me back so I could be with you again. But why'd he wait this long, Jack, I was so alone!"

Jack held her close. "I was alone too, Mary. For three hundred years... I didn't remember anything before waking up in the lake, and seeing the moon." And then Jack smiled. His sister didn't need to be sad or alone anymore. "But now, I'm a Guardian, and kids, kids _believe_ in me! I made them believe, Mary!" He jumped up and did cartwheels around her.

She giggled at his antics, her face lighting up with glee. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you! I have a new name, too! I'm Mary Springs!" Jack grinned. Then he remembered, he'd promised Jamie he'd visit tonight.

"Hey, Mary, do you want to meet my first believer? I bet I can get him to believe in you!" Mary's eyes widened.

"Really? Can we, can we?" She hopped up and down, eyes sparkling.

"Yep! Jamie believes in _everything_! Here, I'll give you a piggy-back!" He stooped and let her climb onto his back, glancing at Tooth, who had watched the exchange with a smile. "Hold on tight!" he said, leaping into the air.

His sister squealed when she realized they'd left the ground, and clung tighter. "Jack! You didn't tell me you could fly!" She screamed over the wind.


	2. First Believer

"Woah!" Jack shouted, "Almost there, now!"

He touched down on his lake, tapping the ice with his staff to make sure it was more than thick enough for his sister.

"Jack? I don't like it here, this is where you died," Mary said, looking around nervously as he set her down.

"Don't worry, Mary, I won't let you fall. I'm Jack Frost, remember? I control the ice now. I won't let it break, I promise, I promise."

Mary gave a small smile. "Okay, Jack. Just... Don't trick me."

"I won't! Now, let's go meet Jamie, shall we?" He smirked as her face lit up again.

Jack scooped her up suddenly and began running towards Jamie's home. She squealed in surprise, laughing as Jack stopped outside his believer's window and tapped the glass with his staff.

"Jack! There you are! I thought you'd never get here! Guess what! I'm thirteen now! And, and look! I lost another tooth last week! Tooth gave me a dollar!" Jamie exclaimed, hopping off his bed and running to open the window to let his favorite Guardian in.

"Hey, kiddo! I wouldn't miss this for the world, and you know it. Wait, thirteen, really? Wow! And a tooth? Cool! Hey, Jamie, I want to introduce you to someone." Jack smiled as Jamie engulfed him in a hug.

"Really? But there's nobody else here..." Jamie said, detaching himself so he could look at Jack.

Mary slumped a little, hearing that. He didn't believe in her.

"Hey, don't frown, little lady, I'll get him to believe," Jack whispered, bending down to her level. He straightened again, addressing his now confused believer.

"Jamie, remember that one time Tooth came to collect your tooth after the sledding accident?" He asked.

"Yeah..." said Jamie.

"You didn't believe in me then, but I was there. I set off your alarm clock and made Abbey chase Bunny like that. You just couldn't see or hear me."

"You did that?" Jamie cried gleefully. "I'll never forget the expression on Bunny's face! Wait, so, you mean there's someone I can't see in here with us?"

Jack nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Pretty much. Jamie, just as I am the Spirit of Winter, there is a Bringer of Spring. And her name is Mary Springs."

Mary looked up at her brother when he said that. "Jack, does he believe yet?"

Jamie gasped as she shimmered into existence. "I do! I can see you!" Jamie shouted excitedly, jumping up on his bed, eyes wide, then froze as his mother called for him to be quiet so he wouldn't wake his sister. "Oops..."

Mary laughed, turning to her brother. "He sees me, Jack, he sees me!"

Jack nodded, laughing joyfully. "You bet he does!"

Mary looked at Jamie again, and started laughing out of pure joy. Jack joined in, jumping up to spin her around, and soon they were all laughing.

Jamie stopped first, distracted by how similar they appeared, despite Jack's hair and eyes.

"Jack?" he said, "Why do you two look so alike?" Jack raised his eyebrows, surprised the boy had picked up on that.

Mary answered for him. "Jack's my brother," she said happily, and Jamie's eyes widened considerably, and he turned to look at Jack.

"Jack? You told me your only sister died a long time ago. How..? And, if she died, then she's... a ghost?"

Mary looked at Jamie, then at Jack, and burst out laughing. Jack sighed. "I'm gonna have to explain this properly, aren't I? Well, you should go get Sophie. She's still awake, right? I'm going to tell you guys a story."

When Jamie had fetched his sister, and Jamie had made her believe in Jack's sister, and she, Jamie, and Mary had plopped down on the bed to listen to Jack's story, Jack began his tale. He jumped around, acting it out as he went.

"_A long, long time ago, there was a boy named Jack. He had a little sister who he loved with all his heart. Her name was Mary. Jack was always playing tricks on her, and swinging from tree branches, and running around causing mischief_."

Mary snorted. "Got that right."

Jack rolled his eyes and continued. "_Then, one winter when Mary was eight, she begged him to take her ice skating. At first, he said no, because they didn't have ice skates, but Santa Claus got them skates for christmas that year, and Jack could never say no to his sister for long. They went skating the next day. But Jack forgot to check the ice to see if it was safe, and the ice cracked under his dear sister. It cracked, but it didn't break. Mary was so scared, and Jack couldn't stand to see her that way. So he told her they were going to play a game, hopscotch, and he grabbed his shepherd's staff, and swung her back on thicker ice! He was so happy to see she was safe, he forgot he was still on the thin ice. The ice, it broke under Jack's feet, and... he drowned_." Jack looked down, not wanting to see the expression on his sister's face as both relived the moment in their minds.

"My turn to tell it, Jack," Mary said sadly. "_The little girl, Mary, was so sad that her dear brother was gone, she stopped eating. She died in the spring that same year, because she wouldn't eat, or sleep, or anything_."

Sophie looked at Jack, awed at having met a real live 'ghost.'

Jamie stared at the two immortals. "No way. You're, you're _dead!_ That is so cool!" Jack glanced at him, smiling wryly.

"Not quite, squirt. The moon brought us back to life, 'cuz he wanted someone to bring the seasons. But we were dead, for a while. That's why I always make sure there's like, five feet of ice on the lake at all times, even in Summer."

Jamie frowned. "Jack, how old are you? And where'd you live, before you...? Uh, wait, you don't _have_ to tell me, I just thought it'd be cool to know, and, and-"

"Jamie! Jamie, calm down. I'll tell you. I was born, like, three hundred and nineteen years ago, and I told you what my full name was, right? Or, actually, I suppose, still is?"

"Uh-uh. You never told me. So what's your full name?" Jamie asked.

"I never told you? Hmm, then I guess you'll just have to find out what it is, 'cuz_ I'm_ not saying." Jack said, smirking.

Mary sighed, though she was smiling too. "Jack, stop teasing, and tell them your name already!" Both spirits had fallen into an easy routine of teasing each other, and it was obviously something they enjoyed and had missed very much.

Jack smirked. "Make me."

"Fine, I'll tell them!" Mary exclaimed, and Jack nearly fell over.

"Wait, no-!" Jack yelped, "I'll do it!"

"I know you better than that, _Jackson Eduard Overland Burgess_!" Mary teased. "You would've procrastinated more."

Jack looked up, groaning at the sound of his full name. "I would not've! And where did you learn that word, anyway?"

Mary looked downright mischievous now. "I've been around for over three hundred years, you hear things. And I bet you would've!"

He glared playfully at her. "Wouldn't have!"

Sophie interrupted them this time. She looked as if she'd been thinking very hard about something and just figured it out. "Burgess? I live in Burgess!"

Jack scooped her up. "Yes, you do. And so did we, once. In fact, our dad's name was Thaddeus. Thaddeus Burgess."

Jamie's eyes widened. "The statue in the park! That's- That's _you_?"

Jack grinned crookedly as he glanced at his sister. "Yep. They didn't do a very good job though, did they, Mary?"

"No, Jack, the only thing _not_ good about that statue was the way my braid was done that day. Which, may I remind you, was _your_ fault." She smirked at the indignant expression on his face.

Jack sputtered. "I did my best! You were being squirmy! You try braiding a squirmy four-year-old's hair! And..."

Jamie wasn't even listening to their bickering anymore. "And then... Oh my gosh, Jack! The lake... You _died_ in our lake!?"

Jack burst out laughing mid-sentence at the horrified expression on Jamie's face. "Technically, kiddo, that's _my_ lake. And relax, it's safer now. There's like 5 feet of ice year round, remember? Plus, people actually know how to swim these days."

Jamie's eyes softened as he yawned, tired. "You couldn't swim?

"Nah," Jack grinned, "Still can't, actually. There were always more important things to do than learning to swim. Chores, taking care of Mary, pranking people... that sort of thing. And after I died..." He shrugged. "I had an unreasonable fear of water, until I got my memories. Now, at least it's a reasonable fear. But that doesn't matter now. I'm immortal. I _can't_ die."

He noticed, suddenly, that Sophie had fallen asleep, and was dreaming of painting eggs with Bunny in the Warren. Mary stared at the little sand image. "Is that a kangaroo?" She asked innocently, and Jamie burst out laughing, though his giggling was cut short by another yawn as dreamsand began swirling over his head. Jack smiled and ruffled his sister's hair.

"I trained you well," he said, smiling. "Bunny will not be happy to hear his favorite season brought by none other than Jack Frost's sister, though." He paused thoughtfully, and after a moment his face lit up. "Oh, oh yes. I definitely want to see his reaction when he finds out. Come on, Mary!" Jack hoisted her onto his back again, and jumped out the window.

"Ja-aack! I will never get used to this!" she screamed as he took off into the sky.

* * *

**Headcanon: Jamie was 9 for the events of RotG, and Sophie was two, so now he's thirteen and Sophie is 6. Also, while Jack's father did found Burgess and therefore gained a certain measure of respect, his family was by no means rich.**


	3. Not A Kangaroo

"Where are we going?" Mary shouted in her brother's ear.

Jack winced at the loud noise, but replied, "To meet my co-workers! I bet you never thought you'd meet the Easter Bunny, huh?" He knew her eyes had gone wide at that, even though he couldn't see her face.

"The... The Easter Bunny? You work with the _Easter Bunny_!?" Jack could hear the disbelief and awe in her voice. Immortal spirit, or no, she was still a child, and with that came the wonder all children felt towards the Guardians.

"Yeah, I also work with_ Santa Claus_," he said casually. His sister, who was still getting over the fact that her brother worked with the Easter Bunny, nearly choked on air.

"S-Santa Claus?!"

He nodded. "Yep. I told you, I'm a Guardian. The Guardian of Fun, to be exact."

"Of course _you_ would be Guardian of _Fun_. You were never serious, ever. It was _always_ fun with you," she snorted.

Jack smirked. "You bet!" He suddenly let out a yell. "Going Down!" He pulled into a dive, making Mary scream, clinging tighter to him. They landed gently several moments later in a wooded area, and Mary gingerly let go, stumbling a bit as she hit the ground. She wanted to be mad at him for tricking her like that, but his laughter was contagious, and she was giggling alongside him soon enough.

When they eventually stopped laughing, Jack tiptoed over to the nearest tree, and beckoned her to follow. She did so, and just as she reached him, he knocked loudly on the tree and pulled her around to the far side. They had only a moment to wait before hearing a rough Australian accent. "Alright, who knocked? Hello? Hello! Ghrr, Damn that bloody Frostbite, playin' tricks on me... Can't believe I fell for that! Again!"

Jack stepped back around the tree to where the voice was coming from, and Mary followed, hiding behind him. "Hey, Kangaroo. What might you be doing here?" He asked, false innocence on his face, but a smirk in his voice. Mary grinned. Jack had played this very trick on her so many times...

"Frostbite! I knew it was you, ya bloody-" Jack cut off the owner of the voice, who appeared to be some sort of oversized rabbit, complete with boomerangs and egg bombs.

"Now, now, that's no way to speak in front of a little girl!" Mary tried her hardest not to smile as she peeked out from behind her brother, looking up at him as she did.

"I'm not that little, Jack, and you know it!" She said, putting on a pout.

"Who's this, Jack? A new believer? Why don't you ever tell us these things beforehand?!" The rabbit asked, clearly annoyed.

"Nah, she's not a believer." Jack said dismissively, appearing to grow tired of the conversation.

The bunny was seriously confused by now, and Mary was beginning to have trouble keeping the smile off her face.

"Mate, what'ddya.. What?"

Jack smirked. "Dude, she's my sister." He said evenly. Neither of them would ever forget the look of utter terror that crossed Bunny's face at those words. It was enough to send the both of them to the ground in peals of laughter.

"Your- Oh, no. No. This can't be real, please, no... Oh, Moon, not _another_ Frostbite..." Jack wiped tears of mirth from his eyes at the rabbit's words.

"Guess I should introduce you properly, huh?" The bunny nodded slowly, eying her as if she were some sort of deadly creature. Jack helped her to her feet.

"Up you get, little lady. Anyway, Mary, this is Bunnymund, the Easter Bunny," Jack said. Mary frowned, looking him over.

"I think he looks more like a Kangaroo," she informed her brother.

Bunny spluttered. "Wha- Eh, I, I do not! I'm a Pooka, mate, a Pooka!"

Jack was laughing again. "See, at least someone agrees! Oh, and Bunny, This is my little sister, Mary Katherine Overland Springs." Bunny stilled.

"Spring? She controls _Spring_?" Mary nodded. She was sure that he'd gone pale under his fur.

"Oh, MiM, what have you gotten me into? Easter's no longer safe!" Bunny wailed.

Jack snorted. "It was safe before? You know I love making it snow Easter Sunday!" Bunny scowled at him. "Hey, why don't you invite us in, it's cold out here!"

"That's 'cuz you're here, Snowflake. An' I don't trust you in the Warren. Why're ya here, anyway?" The Pooka growled.

"I might not feel the cold, but Mary can." Jack persisted, "And she wanted to meet the Easter Bunny. Come on, she's just a kid... Please?" he asked.

"Well, alright. But you gotta behave!" Bunny said quickly, not expecting Jack to agree. At all.

"Okay, I will..." Jack said, looking down. Mary smiled happily.

"Yay! We get to see the Warren! We get to see the Warren!" she yelled, dancing around the clearing. Bunny looked at her, astonished. She really was just a kid.

"You've both been around about three hundred years, right mate?" he asked Jack in a low voice, narrowing his eyebrows. "How'd she become a spirit?"

Not giving the winter spirit a chance to speak quite yet, he tapped the ground with his foot, and Mary's exited shouts turned into a scream as she shot through the tunnels.

Jack, wide eyed, flew as fast as he could after her. He swept her into the air and enveloped her in a hug. "Don't scare her like that ever again!" he shouted, glaring at Bunny. He whispered into her ear as he floated down, telling her over and over that he wouldn't let her fall.

This surprised Bunny. He never would have guessed Jack could be so caring, nor so protective. I mean, sure, he'd seen him with Jamie, but this, this was a whole new level of protectiveness.

Mary calmed down soon enough, and started playing hide and seek with some of the egg golems.

Jack approached Bunny, and both sat down on a grassy bank, where they could watch Jack's sister play. "You wanted to know why she 's so young, right?" Bunny nodded cautiously. He didn't like the sadness in Jack's voice. "I'll tell you, then. It was... It was my fault. Just over three hundred years before I became a Guardian, I was human. Mary had been begging for me to teach her to skate, and when we got skates for christmas, courtesy of North, I agreed. But the ice, the ice wasn't thick enough, and it cracked... under Mary. She was so _scared_... I promised her she wasn't gonna fall in." Jack looked up at Bunny sorrowfully. "I never said _I_ wouldn't, though."

Bunny felt his breath catch in his throat. "What? You- you _died_ to save her? So that's why MiM chose ya..."

Jack looked away. "I didn't save her." Seeing Bunny's confused look, he added, "I wasn't there for her after that. I couldn't remember her, and I wasn't there to make her happy, to cheer her up. She couldn't stand me not being there, and she stopped eating, stopped sleeping... She told me the Moon brought her here to be with me. But... I failed her."

Bunny stared at him. "Frostbite, what are ya talkin' about? Ya saved her life!"

"No, I prolonged it." Jack said. "I promised her everything was gonna be all right. But... It wasn't. I failed her. She only lived a month after I died." He looked over to where the little girl was making one of the Golems dizzy by running around and around it, giggling as she went. "Bunny, she didn't even live to see her ninth birthday!"

Bunnymund could see that he was not about to get over this easily. "Mate, I know you're hurt by this, but now yeh've got eternity to make it up to her!" Bunny glanced at the poor Golem that Mary had been playing with, and winced. It was still spinning, even though the girl had wandered off to play with a few of the little eggs.

"I guess you're right," Jack said, a grin slowly forming. "And we don't ever need to grow up, either... This is gonna be great!" He jumped up and did a backflip in the air.

"Thanks Bunny!" He yelled, darting over to his sister. "Hey, how about we pay a visit to Santa's Workshop, eh, Mary?" Bunny couldn't help but notice how her eyes lit up just seeing him, and he did his best to keep her happy no matter what. It was clear she was everything to her brother, and he didn't want to be the one to face Jack's wrath should anything ever happen to his sister.

He watched as Jack, holding Mary, took off through his tunnels, headed for the North Pole.


	4. Memories- Pt 1

It was night by the time they reached the Pole. Mary had fallen asleep in Jack's arms just as they were crossing Russia, and Jack didn't want to wake her up. And so it was he found himself sneaking into the Workshop for the first time since becoming a Guardian.

He wanted to avoid North until Mary was safe in bed, as the big man just wasn't good at being quiet around sleeping children. Neither were the elves, but they, at least, could be bribed into silence. With cookies.

He carefully opened a window on one of the upper levels, and carefully manoeuvred himself and his sister inside, settling them in the rafters. Looking around, he spotted his favorite yeti working on what looked like a toy train.

"Hey, Phil!" He whispered, just loud enough to catch the furry beast's attention, "Can you prepare a room for my sister? I don't want to wake her up!" The yeti's eyes widened slightly, but he nodded and left the room.

By the time Phil got back, every elf in the room had their own cookie. Jack grinned sheepishly, shifting Mary in his arms and glancing down at the elves. They'd be on sugar highs for the next two hours, and he would usually have loved to stay and watch them, but he had to get his sister to bed, and so he followed Phil out of the room without a word.

He followed the yeti through several hallways before they finally came to a stop. Jack noticed that the room Phil had chosen for his sister was right beside his own room. Good. He set her down gently on the bed, tucking her in just as he had during his human life, over three hundred years ago. He smiled, seeing a stream of golden sand find its way into the room and float over to swirl over his sister.

"Thanks Sandy," he whispered, chuckling lightly as he watched the dream take shape. He stood and left the room, closing the door softly. He nearly had a heart attack when he turned around to find North standing behind him.

"I see you have met Mary Springs, Jack." He said, raising his eyebrows slightly. "But why bring her here? Are you not... mad at her? Does she not melt your snow every year?"

Jack narrowed his eyes in confusion. "You knew about her? And why does everyone think I'm angry with her just because her season comes after mine, anyway?" He asked rhetorically.

"Of course I knew about her!" North exclaimed, "Is my job to know when new spirit comes into world."

Jack's eyes widened. "So you know when someone becomes a spirit, but not their past..." he ducked his head, thinking hard. "I think... you should see my memories. All of you."

"What? Memories are very personal, Jack. You are sure?" North asked, surprised the younger spirit would trust them enough to show them something this important to him. They _had_ left him alone for three hundred years.

It took Jack a moment to answer. "...Yeah. You need to know." Jack turned and walked down the hallway toward the Globe Room. North followed, a serious expression on his face.

When they reached it, North grabbed a snowglobe from a table and whispered something into it, throwing it at a wall. "Ready to go?" he asked, gesturing to the portal. Jack looked back at him, shaking his head.

"I'm not leaving Mary here, North. We can watch my memories here, can't we?" North nodded. It was clear Jack wasn't willing to be separated from the spirit of Spring, and North would respect that, though he didn't know why. Perhaps because she was so childlike?

"Dingle!" He shouted, and as predicted, three or four elves came forward at his call. Choosing the smartest looking one, he promised it two sugar cookies if it told Tooth to bring Jack's memories to the North Pole, and when it eagerly agreed, he tossed it through the portal.

North turned to face Jack. "Alright. Jack, what is going on? You turn up here with sleeping Spring Spirit, you are suddenly very attached to her, and you won't even leave her in safety of Workshop!" Jack sighed.

"I don't really want to explain this again... You'll know when you see my memories, okay? I'm gonna go take a nap." Said the winter spirit, yawning. "It's been a long day." With that, Jack retreated to the cool confines of his room and flopped down on the bed. Not a minute later, he was snoring lightly, golden images of himself playing with Mary floating above his head.

Hours later, he woke to find the Guardians assembled in his room. "Where... Where's Mary?" He asked sleepily, sitting up.

"Still asleep." North assured him. "Now, tell everyone why you had me call them here."

"Oh yeah. I want to show you guys my memories." Bunny's ears stood straight in surprise. He hadn't expected this, and it was clear that the others hadn't either.

"You sure, Jack?" Tooth asked, ruffling her feathers anxiously. "Memories are very precious things..." Jack nodded.

"I know. You need to see this, though. It's the only way you'll understand." The others exchanged looks.

"What do you mean, Jack?" North asked, but Jack shook his head.

"Let's just get this over with. Tooth, you have my memory box, right?" The winter spirit asked, looking at her. She handed it to him. "Everybody, grab hold of my staff," Jack said, holding it out, and when they'd done so, he took his free hand and activated his memories.


	5. Memories- Pt 2

_A small boy in colonial clothing is staring down at th_e _bundle in his arms. The boy seems to be repeating something to himself, and the Guardians strain to hear it. "I- I'm a brother now... I have a sister, I have a sister!" He smiles down at the baby. "Hey there, little lady. My name's Jack. I'm gonna be the best big brother you ever had!'_

It suddenly occured to Bunny that this boy must be their Jack as a child. "That little ankle-biter is _Jack!?_" The others, with the exeption of the winter spirit himself, turned to look incredulously at him. Jack saw this and nodded, grinning as he confirmed Bunny's statement.

"Yep, I'm pretty sure that's me."

They watched as the little Jack continued to whisper promises to his new little sister. Then the memory was gone, replaced by another.

_"Jackson Eduard Overland Burgess! How many times do I have to tell you? You must do your chores before you may play with your sister!"_

The voice was warm and caring, and the Guardians realized that it was the voice of Jack's mother. North snickered. "Jackson Eduard-!" Jack shot him a look.

"Shut up, North!"

_"But Momma..." Jack pouts. "I don't want to do my chores! I want to play with Mary!" His mother stands firm, however, and little Jack goes to do his chores._

Another memory began, and they saw a slightly older Jack holding his baby sister.

_"Can you say 'Jack,' Mary? Can you say 'Jack?'" He cooes, and it is clear that she is trying_ _her hardest._

_"...Wack!"_

_Jack smiles at her anyway. "Close enough."_

The memories go on and on, and the Guardians watched as Mary grew, her brother Jack there to help her every step of the way.

_Jack teaching his sister how to walk._

_Jack and Mary staying up to see Santa, only to fall asleep just minutes before he arrives._

_Jack telling his sister all about the Tooth Fairy, and how she takes your teeth after they fall out, and the whiter your teeth are, the more generous she is with the coins she leaves behind._

_Jack setting a snare in the woods the night before Easter. His mother calling him into the house, telling him to go to bed. He does so, but in the morning he rushes out of the house to check his trap. He finds it sprung, but the rope is cut. He tells his sister that he caught the Easter Bunny, but he got away. She doesn't believe him._

_Jack watching golden dreamsand play above his sister's head as she sleeps._

_Jack letting his sister climb into bed with him because she had a nightmare._

The memories slowed down a little after Mary's eighth birthday. Jack was 15, but he continued to play childish pranks on his sister, though he always made sure she was safe, and he kept her entertained all day. As winter approached, she began to beg for him to take her skating.

_At first he says no, they don't even have skates! How could they go skating without skates? But then Christmas day comes, and they unwrap their presents to reveal two sets of ice skates. _

North remembered those skates. He made them himself.

_Jack finally relents, and he allows himself to be pulled out the door, but not before grabbing his_ _cloak. He reassures his mother, telling her they'll be fine. They'll be careful. the memory goes hazy for a while. They can hear Jack pretending like he was going to slip on the ice,_ _making Pippa laugh. But then something goes wrong._

_CRACK._

The memory was no longer unfocused. It was crystal clear, and for the first time, the Guardians saw Mary's face. The two Guardians who hadn't already heard the story saw why Jack needed to show them this, for the little girl was Mary Springs.

_"Don't look down, just look at me. You're gonna be alright, you're not gonna fall in." he promises._

_"Jack, I'm scared!" She tells him. Jack looks at her helplessly. For the first time in his life, he has failed to keep her happy. He takes off his skates, inching closer to her._

_"I know, I know... But you're gonna, you're gonna be fine. Uh... We're gonna have a little fun, instead!" He tries to smile, to show her it is alright. But she doesn't buy it._

_"No, we're not!" She cries. She's scared, and he hates it when she's scared like this. It's not the good kind of scared._

_"Would I trick you?" He asks, and smiles nervously at her answer._

_"Yes! You always play tricks!" He does, and he knows it. But he needs to make her happy now, he needs to calm her down and make her laugh and smile. He can't stand seeing her_ _upset._

_"Okay, but not, not this time, I promise, I promise. You gotta believe in me."_

Tooth started crying at that, because she knew that nobody believed in Jack for three hundred years.

_His brown eyes light up with an idea, seeing an old gnarled branch that looks just long enough..._

_He spreads his arms and stands straighter. "You wanna play a game? We'll play hopscotch, like we play every day!" He says, smiling at her._

_The ghost of a smile appears on her face, and he continues, encouraged. "It's as easy as one..." He takes a step toward the branch, pretending to fall to make her_ _laugh. "Two, and three!" Triumphant, he grabs the staff and turns to Mary again. "Now it's your turn." He tells her. Her smile vanishes, but she bravely takes a step toward her_ _brother anyway._

"One..." _Then another step, gasping and looking down fearfully as the ice groans. "Two," Jack says, more to himself than to her. "Three!" He reaches out with the staff and grabs_ _her with the hooked end, and tossing her several feet over to thicker ice. She smiles at him and he laughs in relief. She is safe. But just as he stands, the ice breaks under him._

_The last thing he hears is her screaming his name as he plunges into the icy water. He can't swim._

The guardians watched, horrified, as the boy's struggles ceased. Jack was dead. _Dead_. But then the moonbeam came, light filtering through murky water, and his hair turned white at its touch. He opened his eyes.

* * *

"Jack..." Tooth floated over to the young spirit, comforting him as she wiped her eyes. Sandy floated around, a shocked expression on his face. None of the others were chosen after death.

Bunny shivered. Jack had already told him the story, but to experience it like that... It was eye-opening, and he felt bad for teasing the young spirit when he'd been through so much. Then he thought back to the memory with the snare, and the feeling went away. He turned to Jack, incredulous.

"You set that trap, Frostbite? I should have known... Set me back a good two hours that night I remember, ya gumby!" Jack laughed, and the sound made everyone feel slightly better, though they still felt guilty for leaving him alone all those years.

"I gave them skates... I made those!" North groaned. "How did I not know... Jack's light was one of the brightest on my globe, how did I not notice it go out?" Jack glared at him. If anyone was to blame, it was himself.

"North, it was not your fault. I forgot to check the ice that day... I should have known better! I left my sister alone..."

Tooth darted closer to him so she could look him in the eyes. "Jack, what happened to her?" She asked hesitantly. "How did she become a spirit? She still had parents! A family!" Jack sighed.

"She told me she stopped eating after I died, Tooth. She starved to death." He looked away. "It's my fault."

Sandy frowned at this, shaking his head. _'Not your fault'_ he says silently.

He created a dreamsand picture of Jack playing with Mary, then made the sand-Jack dissapear, and she started to cry. Then he brought the mini-Jack back, and the girl smiles again, running to her brother who picked her up and swung her around. _'She was sad when you left, but now you are back. You can make her happy again.'_

A smile creeps onto Jack's face. "Thanks Sandy. I'm gonna go see if Mary's awake yet," he said, knowing she probably was. Sure enough, when he opened her door, he found her sitting up as she looked around.

"Hey, little lady. Sleep well?" He asked softly, walking over to the bed.

"Hi, Jack," she yawned. "Where are we?" she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes and pushing back the covers.

"Santoff Clausen," North's voice came from the door, as the Guardians filed into the room. Jack smiled, watching as his sister stared, wide eyed at the Guardians.

"Also known as Santa's Workshop." He added. He loved seeing her eyes light up like that.

"Woah. Then you're Santa?" She asked North, awestruck.

"Call me North," North replied.

Mary was confused at seeing Bunny and Tooth, and asked Jack about it. "Why are they _all_ here? Did I do something wrong?"

"Nah," he said, "I called them here." Mary frowned.

"Why?"

Tooth answered before Jack could. "To show us his memories."

Mary turned quickly, looking at Jack with big brown eyes. He grinned. "Remember how I said I caught the Easter Bunny with my snare that one time, but he got away, and you didn't believe me? Turns out, I _did_ catch him!"

She stared at him for a moment, trying to remember, and then her eyes widened. "Really?" She asked, turning to Bunnymund.

The Pooka nodded. "Yeah, it turns out Snowflake's been playin' tricks on me longer than I thought."

Despite what Jack had told him, North was still blaming himself. "I am sorry, Mary, Jack." He said, looking down.

Jack sat down on the bed, putting an arm around her. "North, I told you, it wasn't your fault, it was mine! I should have checked the ice!"

North shook his head stubbornly. "It is my fault! I made skates, I give them to you! If I didn't, you would have lived long happy lives and had families!" Mary's eyes widened.

This was about Jack's death.

"It wasn't either of your faults," she said, effectively stopping the arguement. "It was mine."


	6. Memories- Pt 3

"Mary, no!" Jack said, horrified that his little sister felt guilty over his death. "It wasn't your fault."

"But I'm the one who wanted to go skating! If I hadn't made you take me, you wouldn't have died!" Sandy was watching the debate with interest. He even went so far as to form foam hands for Bunny and Tooth, who were trying to stop the argument.

Bunnymund was starting to get a headache. His hypersensitive hearing, coupled with all the shouting everyone was doing really wasn't helping.

"Alright, that's it!" he declared. Bunny did not raise his voice often, but he did it now. "SHUT UP!" Everybody did, and he sighed in relief. "Now, you three," he gestured to Jack, his sister, and North. "You three need to stop thinkin' 'bout the past. What's done is done, an' ya can't go back and change it, ya know? You're here now, an' that's all that matters." He looked around, suddenly noticing that everyone was staring at him. "What? I'm allowed to make speeches," he said in defence.

Jack shrugged and turned to look at his sister."Mary, promise you'll never say it was your fault again, alright? I chose to give up my life to save you, it wasn't your fault." he said, holding her close. She nodded, smiling sadly up at him.

"Okay, Jack, I was just so sad when you died... I'm sorry." She snuggled closer to him as he comforted her. The sight made several of Tooth's mini-fairies squeal.

"Milk? Cookies, anyone?" North asked suddenly, having decided he wasn't being very hospitable to his fellow Guardians. Sandy perked up, waving an image of him drinking eggnog in the air.

"Okay, it is decided! Eggnog for everyone!" North shouted as he strode out of the room.

"Nah, mate, none for me!" Bunny said, following. The Pooka had never particularly liked eggnog, but ever since a prank Jack had pulled, he'd avoided it completely.

Jack grinned as he stood up, pulling his sister with him.

* * *

In a dark cavern beneath Burgess, Pennsylvania, the shadows grew longer.

"Jack Frost has a new fear? This will be good," a silky voice said, as a figure stepped out of the darkness. "So Jack's afraid for his... _sister_? Is that it? But that's impossible! Jack has no family!" Pitch Black snarled at the shadow that had given him the news of Jack's fear. "Foolish shadow. Jack's been all alone for three hundred years! But then, so have others..."

Pitch turned, thoughtful. He had never seen the other seasonal spirits, but he knew their fears. Spring, for instance, had until just ten hours ago, feared not knowing who she was, just as Jack had. Pitch assumed she had found her memories somehow. She was only afraid of one thing now, that _someone_ would leave her again. The fear was so faint, as if she had only feared for a moment before being reassured it would not come true. Pitch could not tell who it was she feared would leave. Could it be..? "Oh, I'm going to have fun with this." he said, melding with the shadows once again.

* * *

Mary cheered as her brother scored another strike. Bunny stamped his foot, frustrated. They were playing elf bowling, a game Jack had invented. The elves, oddly enough, didn't seem to mind being used as bowling pins.

"My turn!" North cried gleefully, grabbing a ice-ball from Jack. He threw it at the elves, and they giggled as they all fell over. "I win, no?" North said.

"You're supposed tuh' bowl it, North. My turn." said Bunny. He missed the mischievous look in Jack's eye as he accepted a ball. He swung back, forward and released- Only to find the ball was firmly iced to his paw. Jack doubled over, laughing, and as soon as she realized what was going on, Mary joined in. "Dammit, Frostbite! Get this bloody thing off my hand!" Then everyone, even the yetis, were laughing.

Just as they calmed down enough to be coherent, Tooth said "Bunny's expression- And the ice!" And then they were off again. Bunny, who was not laughing, but instead trying to melt the ice off his paw, decided that it was time for payback.

"Frostbite, if you don't get this ice off my paw, I'll tell them about the time you-" He suddenly found his mouth frozen shut. He glared at the offending spirit, who smirked.

"I got the ice off your paw, didn't I?" he asked innocently. Bunny checked and sure enough, his paw was now free of ice. But Mary wanted to know what Bunny had been about to say. So she did what any other eight year old would have done when they wanted to get their brother to do something. She brought out the puppy dog eyes.

"Jack, can you please unfreeze Bunny's mouth? I wanna know what he was gonna say!"

"No way! You don't need to know about that-" Jack made the mistake of looking over at her. He sighed, knowing he was beat. "Oh, alright then. But only if I get to freeze his feet to the floor!" He added hastily. Bunny made an indignant sound in the back of his throat and gazed imploringly at Mary. She seemed to consider, then nodded.

"Done." Bunny tried to escape, but it was too late.

"Gah! Frostbite, ya bloody ratbag!"

North came closer to where the rabbit was struggling to move in vain. "So, what is story?" He asked. Bunny smirked. Payback time.

"Alright, well I was visitin' Sophie one time, an' figured I might as well see if Jack was at his lake. He was, but before I could announce myself, I heard somthin'. It was Jack. Little bugger was singing some lullaby an' dancin' around on the ice. I decided not to bother 'im, an went back to the Warren, but I'll never forget that. It was _cute_."

Tooth awwed at the story, declaring it was adorable for Jack to have a softer side like that.

Jack stared at the Pooka. "I thought you were going to tell them about the time I fell into the Dye Pools." He said quietly. "Not _that_." Mary looked just as sad as he did.

Sandy was the only one to notice, however, and decided to ask the two about it.

Drifting over to them, he showed them a crying stick figure followed by a question mark. 'Are you sad?' Jack nodded.

"I was singing my _mother's_ lullaby, the one passed down through my family for generations. I guess... I guess it died with our's, didn't it, Mary?" he said, looking at her. She frowned, then brightened slightly, remembering something.

"No, it didn't! You remember Auntie Elizabeth? Well, she had a baby! We got a letter from her about a week after you died! Maybe our family line is still around, and they still know the lullaby!" She smiled at her breakthrough.

Jack's eyes widened. "Auntie 'Liz had a baby? But last I heard, she wasn't even married!" Mary looked a bit sheepish.

"Oh yeah, the letter also said she got married." Sandy smiled at their exuberance. He hoped their family line was still alive, and they would find their descendants. It was hard to know you were the only one left.

"Who'd she marry, did it say?" Jack asked. Mary thought hard before replying.

"Uh.. Someone named Thomas. Thomas Bennett, I think." Jack stiffened.

"Bennett?" He repeated. "Are you sure?" His sister nodded.

"Yeah, why?" Jack looked like he'd been struck by a train. It was pretty funny.

"Jamie's last name is Bennett," He told her.

"Well... We don't know for sure if... I mean, Bennett is a pretty popular last name, right, so.. Maybe? We could ask Jamie if he's ever heard the lullaby..." Mary stammered.

"Yeah.. I'll have to ask him..." Jack said thoughtfully. It was only 9 pm in Burgess, Jamie would still be awake... He looked over at the other Guardians, who were busy laughing at one of North's jokes. "Come on, Mary, I don't think they'll miss us that much." He said, unlatching a window. She let him hoist her onto his back. He opened the window and leapt out in one smooth motion.


	7. Ancestry

Jamie was sitting at his desk, doing homework, when he heard a knock on his window. He looked up to see Jack floating outside, Mary clinging to his back.

"Jack! Mary!" he cried happily, rushing to let his friends in. "I didn't think you'd be back so soon!" The winter spirit shrugged, setting his sister down.

"Mary and I were talking about what happened to our family line after we died, and Pippa had an idea." Jack said, and Jamie gestured for him to continue.

Mary spoke up. "Did your mom ever sing lullabies to you and Sophie? Jamie nodded.

"Yeah, so?"

"Can you... sing one for us?" Jack asked hesitantly. Jamie blinked.

"You guys came all the way from..." Jamie faltered. He wasn't sure where they'd been before coming to visit, but he was pretty sure it wasn't nearby. "From _wherever_ to ask me to sing you a lullaby?"

"Please?" Mary asked.

"Okay, fine, I will." Jamie frowned, trying to remember. "I don't remember the whole thing though," he warned.

"That's alright," Jack replied softly, glancing at Mary. "Just a little bit is good enough."

Slightly confused, Jamie began singing softly. "_Snow has fallen on the woods and upon the stream, buried underneath the weight quail and pheasants dream... Sleep, sleep now, baby, sleep now..._" He looked up, blushing. "That's all I know..." He started in surprise as Mary's soft voice picked up where he'd stopped.

"_There's a Jesus golden boy, born among the Iroquois... Isn't it a wonder?_"

Jack smiled softly as his voice joined hers in harmony. "_Wolves and coyotes spread the news, howling all day long. Foxes turning fiddle wheels, play a haunting song..._"

"How... How do you know that song?" Jamie whispered, almost to himself. That song had been passed down through his family for generations. Nobody else was supposed to know it. The Guardian ignored him, eyes closed as he sung.

"_Slowly slumber, little dreamer, caribou have come to see... Watch them bow on bended knee, what a thing of beauty..._" Jack's voice died down, and Pippa turned to him, smiling gently as she sung the last verse.

"_You will be the trapper King, so the legends say... When they see your fearless face, wolves will run away... Deeper, deeper, little sleeper, dive into your gentle dream... See the starlight cast its gleam, you will be a Saviour..._"

When she had finished Jack murmured, "I missed when we used to do this every night before bed..." Jamie looked between the two. There was something they weren't telling him.

"What, what is it?" he asked.

The siblings exchanged a glance. "Jamie, we wanted to hear the lullaby because a week after I died..."

"Our mother got a letter from her sister, Elizabeth. The letter said that she got married and had a baby," Mary finished for him.

"So..?" Jamie prompted. He didn't know what that had to do with his family's lullaby.

"So, the letter said the man she married was named Thomas Bennett." Jack supplied and Jamie's mouth fell open.

"No way. I'm related to you?!" he cried.

"Well, how else would you know our mother's lullaby?" Mary said.

"It's been so long since I heard that song from someone else's mouth..." Jack said quietly. "Three hundred years."

"Me too," Mary told him. "Can we sing it again, Jack? Please?" She begged.

Jack grinned slightly at her enthusiasm. "Alright, lets." he said, closing his eyes.

"Can I sing too?" Jamie asked. Jack cracked one eye open, smiling.

"Sure thing, kiddo." Pippa began to hum quietly and Jack began. "_Snow has fallen on the woods, and upon the stream... Buried underneath the weight, quail and pheasants dream..._ _Sleep, sleep now, baby, sleep now There's a Jesus golden boy, born among the Iroquois... Isn't it a wonder?_" Mary, and then Jamie, had joined in shortly after he began.

"_Wolves and coyotes spread the news, howling all day long... Foxes turning fiddle wheels, play a haunting song. Slowly slumber, little dreamer, caribou have come to see... Watch_ _them bow on bended knee, what a thing of beauty..._"

Jack stopped after this verse, a thoughtful look on his face, and Jamie faltered and broke off soon after starting, having forgotten the words, leaving Mary still singing sweetly.

"_You will be the trapper King, so the legends say... When they see your fearless face, wolves will run away... Deeper, deeper, little sleeper, dive into your gentle dream... See the starlight cast its gleam... You will be a Saviour..._" Mary opened her eyes.

"That last verse..." Jack whispered.

"What about it? Mary asked.

"I don't like it so much anymore. It reminds me too much of when I died." He said, frowning slightly. "Guess I really was a Savior, huh?"

"Oh, Jack... The song came true, didn't it? You saved me from those wolves that one time, remember? And you caught the Easter Bunny in one of your snares, that makes you a trapper king!" Mary exclaimed.

"Jack caught Bunny in a snare?!" Jamie asked, incredulous.

Jack smirked. "'Course I did. I was twelve when I did that. Too bad he got away."

Jamie giggled. "Could you do it again?" Jack's smirk turned devious.

"You got any rope?" Jack asked. His sister rolled her eyes as the boys proceeded to plan their next prank on Bunny. She jumped when Jamie's mom opened the door to tell him it was bedtime.

"Mom! Guess what?" Jamie exclaimed. "Jack Frost's related to us!" His mother smiled, laughing as she ruffled his hair.

"That's nice, dear. Come on now, bedtime."

"But mom, it's true! They know the song! I can prove it! They know another verse, one I never heard before!"

"Alright honey, let's hear this extra verse, hmm?" Jamie's eyes lit up. This was a chance to make his mom believe!

He took a deep breath. "_You will be the trapper King, so the legends say. When they see your fearless face, wolves will run away... Deeper, deeper, little sleeper, dive into your gentle dreams. See the starlight cast its gleam, you will be a Saviour..._" Jamie stuttered through the verse, following Jack's lead. When he finished, his mother was staring at him.

"I haven't heard that since I was a little girl... Jamie, how did you know that song?"

"I told you, Jack Frost- What?" He turned to look at Jack.

"Tell her what my full name was before I died." Jack said adding, "And how I died, too."

Jamie nodded, turning to his mother. "Jack says to tell you that his name use to be Jackson Eduard Overland Burgess before he drowned saving his sister when the ice cracked on the lake."


	8. Making Grownups Believe

"Jamie, tell me the truth. Where did you hear that?" Mrs. Bennett asked.

"I _am_ telling the truth!" Jamie cried. "Why won't you believe? Jack, do what you did to make _me_ believe!" Jack's eyes widened and he hurried over to the window. He touched the glass, making frost dance across the cold pane. He glanced over at Mrs. Bennett, who was staring at the glass. He drew a stick figure holding a staff and willed it to come to life.

"Oh my god, he's real..." Mrs. Bennett murmured, watching the translucent stick man run around. It burst into snowflakes.

"Do you think it worked?" Jack said. Jamie nodded, smiling when his mother straightened at the voice.

"I think so."

The woman turned around and stared at Jack. "You're real." It wasn't a question, but Jack answered anyway, falling back on his incredibly outdated manners.

He bowed, tipping a hat that didn't exist. "Jack Frost at your service, Ma'am."

Mrs. Bennett flushed. "So is what my son said about our being related true?" Then she realized how skinny Jack was and her motherly side took over. "Jack, why are you so thin? You look like you're skin and bones!"

Jack nodded, ignoring her concern to focus on the first question. "You're not really _direct_ descendants, as my sister and I both died as children, but our Aunt Elizabeth married a man named Thomas Bennett."

"But my son said you died to save your sister. Did she not make it off the ice?" Mrs. Bennett's voice became concerned. Jack hesitated, then sighed in defeat.

"Um, I think it would be easier to tell you the whole story of my past, rather than answer questions. I may as well, seeing as everybody else has heard it." Jack said awkwardly, putting a hand in his pocket. He was surprised to find a metal box nestled there. His eyes widened, a smile appearing on his face. "Wait. I have a better idea. Everybody, grab hands."

Mary rushed to grab Jack's free hand, and Jamie grabbed her's. His mother grabbed her son's free hand, though she was confused by the seemingly empty space between Jack and Jamie. Jamie noticed his mother's confusion. "Jack's sister. You can't see her because you don't believe."

"Here's what we're gonna do," Jack said. "I'm not going to _tell_ you what happened. I'm going to _show_ you." He pulled out his memory box, sliding a finger over the diamond as he did so.

* * *

"Whoa!" Jamie shouted, "I did NOT expect that!" They were standing outside a small cabin in a clearing. Yet the place was somehow familiar.

Jack grinned. "Welcome to my memories!" He said grandly, spreading his arms. Mrs. Bennett turned around, hearing a voice.

A small boy, only about five years old was talking to an older man, presumably his father, as the man cut firewood with a hatchet. _"...So, I threw a snowball at them an' it hit Tommy in the face, and he shouted that I was dead for that but I laughed and ran away, an' they started chasing me but they couldn't catch me 'cuz I ran into the woods an' they were too scared to and..."_ The man smiled at his son.

_"I'm proud, Jack. No-one calls us insects and gets away with it!"_

Jamie stared at the little brown haired boy. "Is that **you**, Jack?"

"Yep. Hard to believe, right?" Jack said, laughing.

"Jack! You never told me you threw a snowball at mean ol' Tommy!" Mary said indignantly.

"Well, this happened before you were born, so..." Jack trailed off. The scene changed and seven-year old Jack was singing a lullaby to his baby sister. They could just hear the words of the family lullaby as baby Pippa's cries died down.

"Jack, you told me I **didn't** cry a lot when I was a baby! Pippa spun to look at her brother. He raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't, but you probably would've if I didn't sing to you all the time."

Mrs. Bennett, who'd been quiet so far, said. "Jack, Jamie, I've tried to believe in Jack's sister, but I still can't see her!"

"Well, do you believe someone brings spring to the world?" Jack asked.

Mrs. Bennett's eyes widened. "I guess I do now." In front of her was a young girl, only eight years old.

"Hello, Ma'am," Mary said, curtsying shyly, as she put to use her own three hundred year old manners. "I'm Mary. Mary Springs."

Mrs. Bennett smiled warmly at her. "Hello, dear." Before she could say more, they were interrupted by the sounds of howling wolves. Jack stiffened, eyes scanning the woods, as Mary rushed over to be comforted by him. The sound of footsteps came to them as two small children ran out into the clearing.

_"Jack!" the girl called, "I'm scared!"_ The boy turned.

_"It's alright, Mary. I promise, I won't let them hurt you."_ He glanced around the clearing. There! He spotted a tree that looked reasonably climbable. _"Mary, get on my back."_

She did, and just as the wolves burst into the clearing, Jack ran for the tree. He made it, scrambling out of reach just as the lead wolf flung itself at him, snapping at his heels.

Mrs. Bennett inhaled sharply as a wolf ran towards her son, only for the canine to run right through him.

"They can't see us..." Jamie gasped. Jack nodded.

"No, they can't. The feeling of being walked through like that isn't fun, is it?" Jack asked, making a face. Jamie shook his head slowly, thinking about something his friend had told him once, and Jack continued. "I was invisible for three hundred years, everybody walked through me and all they felt was a bit of cold passing over them."

"I walked through you, didn't I?" Jamie asked quietly. Jack nodded.

"Yeah. You did. I was there when your Mom told you I was just an expression. I was sitting on the fence, and she told you to wear your hat so I wouldn't nip your nose." He glanced at Mrs. Bennett, who looked completely horrified. "I started the snowball fight, and I threw the snowball at Cupcake. And nobody saw me. I was used to it by then. But now I don't have to be used to it anymore. Thanks, Jamie."

"I was alone too. Thanks, Jamie!" Mary said.

They settled into a comfortable silence as they watched Jack's memories go by. They found Jack had often suffered so his sister didn't have to. Then Mary's eighth birthday came, and she turned to her brother, clinging to him. "I don't wanna watch anymore!" She cried.

"Don't worry, Mary, you don't have to," he comforted.

"What- what is it?" Jamie asked. Jack shook his head.

"Just watch, Jamie. You know the story."

"Oh." Jamie said, turning to watch the memories of Jack's last year.

_"Can we go skating Jack?"_

_"Well, I don't know... We don't even have skates!"_

_"Look! Jack, look! Santa gave me skates! And a doll!"_

_"That's great, little lady! I got skates too; we can go skating later!"_

_"Jack, what else did you get?"_

_"...Coal?"_

They went skating that afternoon.

_"Jack, Mary, be careful!"_

_"We will!"_

They hadn't been careful enough. Mrs. Bennett gasped in shock when the ice cracked.

_"It's okay, it's okay! Don't look down, just- look at me!"_

_"Jack, I'm scared!"_ Jamie glanced at the winter spirit, who was occupied in distracting his sister from the scene in front of them. He remembered saying that himself, when Pitch tried to take over the world.

_"I know, I know, but- you're gonna be alright. You're not gonna fall in, uh... We're gonna have a little fun, instead!"_ Jack had said that to him, too.

_"No, we're not!"_ Mary cried, wobbling a bit on her skates.

_"Would I trick you?"_ Jack asked playfully, edging closer to her.

_"YES! You always play tricks!"_

_"Well, not- not this time, I promise, I promise. You're gonna be- You're gonna be fine. You have to believe in me. You wanna play a game? We'll play hopscotch, like we play every day!"_ He stood up, stepping towards a shepherd's staff laying nearby._ "It's as easy as one,"_ Jack winced, but put on a smile for his sister as he pretended to fall. _"Two, three!"_ He cried, grabbing the staff._ "Now it's your turn. One, two..."_ He didn't even wait for her to take a third step. He grabbed her with the hooked end of his staff and swung her back toward thicker ice.

Mrs. Bennett sighed in relief. "For a moment there I thought-"

The ice broke under Jack.

_"Jack!"_

Suddenly they were under the ice too, watching. None of them could bear the sight except Jack because he'd lived it.

* * *

Then they were in Jamie's bedroom again, and Mary was crying. Mrs. Bennett did what any mother would do. She went to cheer her up, but found Jack had gotten there first. So, she settled for the next best option. "When was the last time you two had a proper meal?"

"Does a huge platter of cookies count?" Jack asked.

"If it isn't healthy, it probably isn't a proper meal." She recited, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh. In that case, over three hundred years," He said, shrugging.


	9. The Others Arrive

When Jack had made his sudden departure from the Workshop, younger sister in tow, chaos erupted. The elves ran around screaming, making everyone press their hands to their ears. The yetis hollered at each other and the guardians in their indecipherable language, and the Guardians themselves were having trouble with the wind that had rushed through the open window.

Tooth and her fairies were having trouble flying, Bunny was still frozen to the floor, and could do little more than shiver as the icy gusts blew around him. Sandy's dreamsand was being thrown everywhere, and North had tripped over a few hysterical elves.

Phil, who'd only left the room for a cup of tea, stood in the doorway, feeling bad for himself. He would, doubtless, be asked to clean up the mess. Again. After contemplating his bad luck for a while, he trudged over to the window and slammed it shut.

When the elves had been ushered out of the room, Phil turned and raised an eyebrow at the guardians, thinking 'They can defeat Pitch Black, the Nightmare King, and they can't even stand up to a little gust of wind?'

"What? Elves were underboot! Not my fault." North defended himself. "Now, where is Jack? I need to speak to him."

Phil gestured at the window. Sandy, who knew they'd gone to Jamie's, made a sand-image of the boy. He was ignored.

"Eh. No matter, he will be back by morning," North said, shrugging it off.

Jack was not back by morning, and the Guardians were beginning to worry.

"Where's Frostbite?" Bunny asked, looking around. "North said he'd be back by now." Tooth fluttered around worriedly, stopping now and then to belt out a tooth location.

"You think he's okay? -Upper right molar, San Diego- I mean, he can take care of himself but -Lower left incisor, North Vancouver- He's got his sister with him!"

"She's brought spring for three hundred years, Tooth. I'm not worryin' 'bout them; I'm just sayin'..." The Pooka stopped, realizing he was caught. "Well, a'right, I am a _bit_ worried."

Sandy had been trying to attract their attention for a good two hours by then; he didn't _want_ to send another elf to the infirmary for extreme dizziness, but he was really getting fed up. So he marched over to the nearest elf. The poor thing had just recovered from the last time he'd shaken it, and tried to run. It didn't get away in time.

When the little man had finally gotten everyone's attention, he made it clear he was annoyed at them before creating an image of Jamie.

"...Oh! Jack and Mary are with Jamie!" North bellowed. "Sandy, why didn't you say so!" Sandy blew dreamsand out of his ears in annoyance before making a sand-image of a sleigh.

"Right! Everyone, to the sleigh!" Bunny groaned, trying unsuccessfully to yank his feet out of the ice. He'd spent an uncomfortable night hunkered on the floor while the others slept in North's guest rooms.

"Damn that bloody popsicle, when I get my hands on 'im..!"

It took an hour to chip the ice away from Bunny's feet, and another ten minutes to get the Pooka in the sleigh.

But they succeeded, eventually. And so it was they took off at around nine am with a still struggling Bunny tied down with rope.

"I don't see 'ow this was necessary!" He cried, kicking out and almost knocking the Sandman from his spot. Sandy retaliated by throwing dreamsand at him.

"Thanks Sandy," Tooth said, "He almost hit one of my mini-fairies!"

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful.

Just as they landed on the roof of the Bennett's home, Bunny woke. "Wha- Hey, where..?"

"Wake up, Bunny!" North said, ignoring the fact that Bunny was already awake. "We are here!"

While Tooth and Sandy untied the sleepy rabbit, North strode over to the chimney, peering down. "Good! No fire. Hurry up!" he called over his shoulder.

"We'll go through the window," Tooth said cautiously. "I don't want to get my feathers sooty." The big man shrugged.

"Suit yourself!" He jumped through the narrow entrance, leaving the others to get off the roof. Tooth and Sandy flew, of course, and Bunny leapt down. Hopping over to Jamie's window he peered in. Nobody was there.

Jamie always left his window unlatched for Jack, Bunny remembered. He pushed it open, hearing Jamie's voice. He jumped through, letting Sandy and Tooth in as well. They reached the dining room at the same time as North, who'd apparently gotten lost on the way. (Don't ask.)

They burst in to find Jack working his way through a large stack of pancakes, listening to a story Jamie was telling. Mary was doing the same, but little Sophie had fallen asleep, face planted firmly on her plate.

Then Jamie's mother walked out of the kitchen with another plate of pancakes. "Who wants more- Oh!"

Jack looked up, swallowing. "Oh, hey guys!"

"She can see us?" Tooth said, looking at Mrs. Bennett.

"Yes, I- Yes." She stammered. "I can." Jamie burst out laughing at the expressions on everyone's faces, accidentally waking Sophie up.

"Bunny! Hop hop hop!" That broke the trance.

Bunny knelt down to his favorite child. "'Ow's my favorite little ankle biter, eh?' I missed ya." Tooth was darting around the room excitedly, mini-fairies following her as she spewed tooth locations for them.

Jack and Mary had joined Jamie on the floor, laughing their butts off. Sandy was making sand images at too fast for anyone to understand, and Mrs. Bennett had rushed back to the kitchen to make pancakes for everyone. North started babbling in Russian, a habit he had when he got too excited about something and forgot nobody could understand him.

Ten minutes later, however, things had calmed down a bit. Mrs. Bennett had run out of flour and so couldn't make any more pancakes, and Sandy had taken it upon himself to get North to speak English again.

The three on the floor had eventually needed to stop laughing for want of air, tears of mirth rolling down their cheeks. Sophie had fallen asleep again, leaving Bunny free to help poor Sandy with the language crisis.

"Ay, try English, mate!" he said.

"Wha- Oh. Sorry." North said. "I was just wondering how it is an adult believes in us." Jack held up a finger, still gasping for breath. "That... Was me!"

Tooth moved to hover over him, peering into his eyes. "But we have never gotten an adult to believe! How did you..?" Jack, having finally recovered from his laughing fit, smirked.

"I had Jamie sing her a lullaby."

"What are you talking about, Jack?" North asked.

Jack hauled himself to his feet, leaning on his staff. "You know the lullaby Bunny so _nicely_ told everyone I sang that day? That was my family lullaby. Nobody outside the family knows the words to it."

"Get to the point, mate." Bunny wasn't in the mood for riddles.

"Jamie knows the lullaby." Jack said, gesturing to him.

"Only one verse," Jamie frowned.

"I knew the whole thing, but I never sung the third verse to my children," Mrs. Bennett spoke.

Mary nodded, sitting up. "We had Jamie sing the last verse to his mom," she said before adding, "And had him tell her how Jackson Eduard Overland Burgess died in a pond saving his sister. Apparently Mrs. Bennett knew the story."

Bunny shook his head. "You really are somethin', snowflake. Not only did you make an adult believe, but ya found your descendants as well."

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**I know I don't leave many Author's Notes, but that's just 'cuz I c an't usually think of anything to say. I just wanted to thank all my readers. I wouldn't have been motivated enough to write this if it weren't for you guys. So thanks, everybody! I love reading your reviews, even the little ones, and I really appreciate it. You guys are awesome!**


	10. Proper Introductions

"Hello!" Tooth darted in front of Mrs. Bennett, surprising her. "Can I see your teeth? Have you been brushing enough? I don't see adult teeth very often, are they as cute as kids' teeth? Ooh, they are!"

"Uh- Um..." Mrs. Bennett leaned back, trying unsuccessfully to get away from the Tooth Fairy.

Jack saved her from further discomfort, dragging Tooth away. "Tooth, personal space! You can look at her teeth later..! _Tooth!_ Here, here. Look at _MY_ teeth, instead!" He gave her a toothy smile and several mini-fairies swooned.

Mrs. Bennett gave her a cautious glance, before turning to Bunnymund. "So, you're the Easter Bunny?"

"That's right, Sheila! Name's Bunnymund." He glanced down at Sophie, sleeping in his arms. "You've got a wonderful ankle-biter here, y'know that? She's a great artist, helps me paint my googies every year."

"What? My daughter helps... Every year?" He nodded, chuckling.

"Every year for the past four years. I come ta' collect 'er an' off we go to the Warren. She helps me paint eggs, tires 'erself out, an' I carry her 'ome."

"I see... Next year, I'm coming to watch, if I may." Mrs. Bennett wondered how she hadn't noticed her daughter was missing the day before Easter every year.

"Sure, more help, the better. Maybe you could come ta North's After-Christmas Party this year? I think Jack'd like that." He looked over at the teen, watching him tell Jamie a story.

"North?"

"I think I'd better introduce everyone properly. You know us by our titles, Sheila, not our names. That big bloke over there's North St. Nicholas, I'm E. Aster Bunnymund, there's Toothania over there, that's Sanderson Mansnoozie, and your ancestor's called Jackson Eduard Overland Frost, though ya already knew tha'." Everyone looked up at the sound of their names and came over to stand near the Pooka.

"Together, we are Guardians of Childhood." North said, stepping forward.

"Guardians?"

"Yeah," Jack said, balancing on top of his staff. "I'm the Guardian of Fun, Sandy's the Guardian of Dreams, Tooth's the Guardian of Memories, North's is Guardian of Wonder, and Kangaroo over there's the Guardian of Hope." He suddenly found himself knocked off his perch.

Bunny rolled his eyes, retrieving his boomerang. "Frostbite, I'm a bunny, mate. A bunny. Not a bloody kangaroo!"

"You deserved it. How did you know my full name, anyway?" Jack asked.

North answered for him. "Man in Moon told us. And you showed us your memories."

Jack scowled slightly, ignoring the fact that he had indeed shown them his memories. "I still haven't forgiven him, you know. He left me alone for three hundred years when he could have just told me who I was!"

"We know, Frostbite. I think you've mentioned it before." Bunny growled.

"The Man in the Moon? He's real too?" Mrs. Bennett asked.

"Of course! MiM chose us to protect the children." Tooth explained.

"Jack showed us his memories. Were yours like that, too?" Mrs. Bennett didn't want to pry, but she was curious as to how these people had become such legendary immortals.

North shifted uncomfortably. "Our memories are not meant to be told. It is truly special that Jack has chosen to share his with you. But... His are different. None of us died when we were chosen." Mrs. Bennett nodded.

"I understand. If you don't want to tell me about it, you don't have to."

"Jamie told me you guys have an attic with a bunch of old stuff in it." Mary said, bounding over. "Can Jack and I please look around for stuff we recognize, ma'am?" Jack's eyes lit up and Mrs. Bennett nodded.

"Sure you can. And I told you, you don't need to call me ma'am! It makes me feel old!"

"Come on, Mary! Lets go memory-hunting!" Jack exclaimed, marching out of the room with his sister in tow, but not before throwing a cheeky 'Thanks, ma'am!' in Mrs. Bennett's direction. Jamie scrambled up and ran after them.

"I wanna come too!"

Jack stopped to let him catch up.

It would have taken them longer to find their destination if Jamie hadn't been there, but they found it. The Bennett's attic was filled with boxes of various things. While Jamie and Mary searched the boxes at the front, Jack floated over to a large stack of extra dusty boxes in the far corner that looked promising.

He opened the first of these boxes.


	11. Family Heirlooms

"Guys," Jack said, staring at a small dust-covered object. "I think I found something."

He hovered in the air, wiping some of the dust off with his sleeve.

"What is it, Jack?" Mary asked. He held the object out so she could see it. Her eyes widened. "My doll!"

Jamie stared at the doll in Jack's hand. The stitching was uneven, and it was made of coarse fabric, but it was clear that Mary loved it. "Who made it? Your mom? It looks like it's homemade." Jamie said as Jack handed the cherished object to his sister.

"I'll have you know, _I_ made that doll!" Jack stated proudly before adding. "If Momma sewed it, it wouldn't look so lopsided." Mary grinned.

"Jack, I told you before, I like it best _because_ you made it all lopsided!" she said, hugging it to her chest. Jack smiled.

"Let's see what else is in those boxes, hmm?" He flitted over to the box, waiting for the two on the ground to make a path through the room. By the time they got there, Jack had found a few more things. A hand-mirror, their mother's; their family's prayerbook, a wooden bowl Jack thought he might have used once.

Jack looked in the little book. There was his name, and his sister's just inside the cover, marked with their birth dates. Jack was shocked to find two more dates, though he should have known their father would have written their death dates down as well.

_Jackson Eduard Overland Burgess - 1697-1712_

_Mary Katherine Overland Burgess - 1704-1712_

"Well, I found proof of our existence, Mary!" Jack called as she and Jamie burst through the wall of boxes behind him.

"Jack, why didn't you just carry us over here? Y'know, since you can_ fly_?" Jamie asked.

Jack smirked. "It was fun."

"For you! Not for us!"

Jack set them down in the little space he'd cleared. Mary peered into the box. "Wha- Hey! I found something!"

"What is it?" Jamie asked.

"Looks like shoes, but I don't..." She stopped suddenly, staring at the footwear.

"Ice skates?" Jamie asked. Mary looked completely horrified at the skates. Jamie looked at her. "What? What is it?"

Mary swallowed. "The last time I wore these, my brother died." She whispered, glancing at said brother.

"Oh, right."

"I can't believe Momma kept these..."

Jack looked into the box from which the skates had come. "Wait, where are my skates?"

"At the bottom of your lake. They fell in with you." Mary told him.

"Huh. Guess we can't go skating then." he said casually.

"What!? Skating? Jack! That isn't funny!"

"I wasn't trying to be funny, Mary. I think it would be a great idea."

"Jack, how can you say that! You fell in and died while skating!"

He shrugged. "Dad used to say 'If you fall, get up and try again.' Besides, we're immortal now and I can freeze the lake solid if I want." He paused. "You know, I've kept that lake at freezing temperatures for three hundred years... I bet my skates are in pretty good condition. North could fix them up."

Jamie was pretty much used to their playful bickering by then and ignored the two in favor of rummaging through the box.

"Jack, Mary? Look at this!" he exclaimed, holding something up. It was a beautifully carved hunting knife, complete with a leather sheath. Jack's eyes lit up at the sight of it.

"My knife!" he exclaimed joyfully, grabbing it. He tucked it carefully into the pocket of his hoodie.

Mary rolled her eyes and opened another box. Her eyes lit up. The box was full of clothes.

"Papa's hat! Remember how we loved to dress up and pretend we were our parents, Jack?"

"Yeah, and then once he came in from the fields early and I was wearing his hat and best coat? And then he laughed and said I looked just like him!" Jack smiled at the memory. "Guess I don't look so much like Father now, huh?"

"Nah," Pippa said, looking him over, "You look more like Grandpa now, 'cause your hair's white."

"Hey!"

"Jack, look what I found!" Jamie said, holding up a cape. "It's got your name on it!"

Jack grinned. He immediately took off his hoodie, draping the cape over himself instead. He took his knife out of the hoodie's pocket and tied the sheath to the rope holding his pants up. "There. Now I'm happy. What do you think?" Jack said, holding his hands out. Now he looked just as he had when he'd been pulled out of the ice.

Mary smiled. She hadn't really gotten used to seeing Jack in a blue sweater instead of his colonial clothing.

Jamie looked at him in confusion. "Jack, I thought you liked your hoodie!"

"I do, but I like my cape more. I only got a hoodie 'cause my warmest cape was destroyed in a hailstorm about fifty years ago, and I couldn't find another to replace it. Besides, now I match Mary."

"Jack, I think that's everything," Mary said, digging through a few more boxes.

"Alright, Mary. Lets go show everyone what we found!" Jack replied, grabbing his father's hat and placing it on his head. "Come on!"

They gathered everything they'd found, and made their way back to the trapdoor, just as Tooth darted in, chattering about coffee.


	12. Coffee

"Oh no." Jack said as he watched Tooth shoot around the room, followed by a few of her mini-fairies. "Did she say 'coffee?'"

Jamie groaned. "Mom must've given her coffee! And if she gave the Tooth Fairy coffee, she probably gave everyone _else_ coffee, too..."

Jack's eyes lit up. "I wonder if there's any for me!"

"No, Jack, wait!" Jamie cried, but it was too late. The winter spirit was gone. Jamie turned to Jack's sister. "Please tell me you aren't gonna have any?"

"Nah, coffee's a grown up thing." Mary said, making a face. "Papa let Jack have coffee once when he turned 14, and he got _really_ hyper, and when that happened, he was worse than Tooth is right now." She gestured at the fairy, who was darting around the room spurting tooth locations almost too fast for her fairies to understand.

"We're doomed." Jamie announced, rushing downstairs to find absolute chaos. It seemed Mrs. Bennett _had_ given everyone coffee. Jamie marched over to her, Mary rushing after him.

"Mom, you can't give coffee to immortals! They're all hyper naturally, coffee makes them go _crazy_!"

As if to prove his point, Bunnymund suddenly bounded past them, Sophie on his back, as North broke into song, dancing around the room.

"I know that now!" she replied. "How do we stop this?" Jamie thought for a moment, looking around for inspiration as Jack Frost started a snowball fight with a snowman he'd conjured in the living room.

"Sandy!" He cried spotting the little man in a corner, making sand images so fast they were incomprehensible. "Sandy can help!" He made his way over to the golden man, dodging snowballs as he did. "Sandy, can you make everyone fall asleep?" Sandy nodded, holding up a ball of dreamsand.

Nobody could remember what happened after that, but when they woke up, the place was in a state of disarray.

Jack groaned, blinking. "What happened?"

"Coffee happened, that's what mate," Bunny replied groggily from his position against the wall.

By now, everyone was beginning to stir, except Sophie. She was still fast asleep beside Bunny. Jamie and Mary were lying near Tooth on the carpet. North found himself under the dining room table, and Sandy was curled up on a chair.

"Where's Mrs. Bennett?" Tooth asked, sitting up.

"Work, probably." Jamie mumbled, not bothering to move. "Woulda left a note on the fridge."

"North crawled out from beneath the table and walked tiredly over to the fridge. "Yes, she left note."

"What'sit say?" Jack yawned, sitting up.

"Says she is at work. And that you should stay out of trouble, Jack." North said.

Jack groaned in reply. "Sure."

"Hey, snowflake?"

"Yeah?"

"What're you wearing?"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "My clothes."

"I meant the hat, Frostbite."

"Wha- Oh! It's my father's hat."

"Why're you wearin' it, then? An' where's your hoodie? I don't think I've ever seen ya without it."

It was clear by now that Jack was not a morning person. It was also clear that Bunny _was_ a morning person.

"I only got my hoodie fifty years ago... Momma sewed me this cape, it's mine, and I like it better than my hoodie." Jack grumbled, flopping back to the ground.

"What are you doing, Jack?" Tooth asked, watching as he closed his eyes.

"Sleeping."

"On the floor? Sleeping is for beds!" North laughed.

"Well, I spent three hundred years sleeping in trees and snowbanks, so how would I know that?" Jack mumbled. The others exchanged uncomfortable glances. "Besides, I'm too tired to move."

He'd almost fallen asleep again, and he would have if Mary hadn't woken up at that moment.

"Jack? Jack, wake up! Jack! Can we play hopscotch today like we used to? Ja-aack! Wake up!" She paused to hear his muffled reply.

"'m asleep, Mary. Maybe later." Her face fell, then lit up with an idea.

"Jack, remember how I used to get you up? 'Cause _I_ do." She said sweetly. It took Jack less than a second to get to his feet.

"I'm up! I'm up!" He cried, rubbing his eyes. "Hopscotch, right?" Mary nodded, smiling. "I kinda promised Jamie a snow day tomorrow, and then I had coffee and made it a blizzard, so it's a bit too stormy outside, but we can still play hopscotch in here!"

"Okay! Can everyone else play too?" She asked.

"Of course!" Jack said, smirking. He'd like to see that. Santa Clause playing hopscotch? Totally happening. "Here, I'll draw the lines." He tapped his staff on the floor, freezing a familiar pattern into the carpet. And here's our stone." He said, forming an ice pebble in his hand.

"Jack, you go first!" Mary shouted.

"Okay, but you're going next!" Jack said, and threw the ice down.

It didn't land on the path, but it was near the six. Jack hopped to the three, pretended to fall, made it to the end, turned and hopped back to the six. He bent down and tried to reach the stone but lost his balance, sprawling on the ground. "I got it!" He called sheepishly, holding up the ice. He got up and handed the stone to his sister. "Your turn, little lady. Think you can do better?"

She laughed. "Of course!" She threw the little chunk of ice. It landed on the two. She hopped to the end, hopped back to the two, picked up the stone, and hopped once more to where Jack was standing. It didn't matter to him that she'd switched feet halfway through, she did it perfectly in his mind. "Bunny's turn," Mary called, handing him the pebble.

"What! Oh, no, sheila. I am not-" Jack cut him off.

"Yes, you are."


	13. Hopscotch

Something in Jack's voice made Bunny's arguments die in his throat. He grudgingly threw the stone, watching as it landed on the five. Awkwardly, he hopped as far as the three before tripping. "This is not funny, Frostbite!" He growled, hearing laughter, but that only made the teen laugh harder.

Mary giggled as she cried, "North, it's your turn!" North's eyes widened.

The big man was surprisingly good at hopscotch, as it turned out.

"I win!" He announced, holding up the half-melted ice pebble several hours later. Jack floated over lazily and poked him. "Oh no."

"No you don't," Jack laughed as North lost his balance and toppled over.

"You stay on Naughty List," He grumbled, pointing up at the floating winter spirit.

"Can I go next?" Tooth chattered excitedly. "I never played hopscotch before today, it's really fun!"

Mary stared at her in horror. "Never played hopscotch?" She asked. "Not even once?" Tooth shook her head. "Then you can go," she said.

Tooth didn't use her legs often. She didn't need to. She could walk, sure, but hopping on one leg... Not so much. It didn't really surprise anyone when she lost her balance halfway through.

Then it was Jack's turn again. Bunny was slightly annoyed. They didn't make_ Sandy_ play, but they dragged him into it?

This led to an argument between Bunny and Jack. Everyone stopped playing to watch the confrontation.

"You WILL play, Kangaroo, if you won't do it willingly, I will make you!" Jack said, forcefully.

"Make me? Ha! Ya can't make me play! What's up wit' ya, anyway? What's so important about me playin' some stupid children's game?" Bunny shouted, glaring at Jack.

"It's not a stupid game, it saved my sister's _life_! Take it back!" Jack yelled, flinching at the Pooka's words.

Just then, Mrs. Bennett walked in. "I'm home! Jack, I got you some-" She stopped, looking between Jack and Bunny. "Is there something going on here?" The bickering spirits pointed at each other.

"He started it!"

Mrs. Bennett sighed. "I don't care who started it, from now on there will be no fighting in this house. Got it?" They nodded. "Alright, as I was saying, Jack, I got you some shoes."

Mary burst out laughing. "You got my brother _shoes_?"

Mrs. Bennett nodded uncertainly. "Well, yes, I saw he wasn't wearing any, and I figured-"

"Jack hasn't worn shoes a day in his life, ma'am. He avoids them like the plague!" Mary giggled.

"I don't need shoes," Jack said, amused. He was enjoying this. "Never have. I'd rather leave my feet bare."

"That doesn't mean you should. You will stub your toes, or step on glass, and your feet will freeze and you'll get frostbite, or-"

Jack snorted. "I'm the spirit of Winter, I'm fairly sure I'm safe from frostbite and cold."

"But what about-"

"Ma'am, I won this argument against my parents, I can win it again. My feet are fine."

Mrs. Bennett frowned, but didn't press the issue.

Jamie was watching the snow fall from the window. "Jack, is this a blizzard yet?"

"Do you want it to be?" Jack asked. "How deep do you want the snow tomorrow?"

Jamie thought for a moment. "Two feet of snow?" He suggested hopefully.

"Done," Jack said. "I have to go spread winter to other places. I'll be back in the morning." He ruffled Jamie's hair, and hugged his sister. "I won't be gone long, Mary, you be good, okay?" He turned to the guardians. "If anything happens to my sister, I'm holding you four responsible." Then he was out the door.

"Jack! Come back and put a hat on!" Mrs. Bennett called after his retreating figure, though she doubted he heard her. She sighed and closed the door.

"Uh, Mom? Didn't he _just_ remind you that cold doesn't affect him?"

North smiled. "Is easy to forget things about Jack. For us, easy to forget he is child. For you, easy to forget he is immortal."

"I don't see how ya forget he's a Winter spirit, though," Bunny grumbled. "First time I caught 'im sleepin' I thought he was dead 'cuz he's so darned pale!"

"Dead people don't smile." Sophie said. "Silly bunny."

"Do sleepin' people?" Bunny asked. She thought for a moment.

"I dunno."

Mrs. Bennett frowned when she saw the melting frost on her carpet, but she didn't comment.

"So... Who wants to play a board game?"

"I do!" Tooth squealed as her mini-fairies began buzzing around excitedly. "And so do my fairies! How about we play Operation?"

Sandy raised his hand, images of Monoply and Life swirling above his head.

"I say we play Risk!" Bunnymund said.

North nodded in agreement. "I am champion at Risk!"

North was _not_ a champion at risk. As it turned out, Sophie was an extremely good war commander, and she won every game.


	14. Missing

"Hey, I'm back!" Jack shouted as he touched down outside the Bennett's home. "Hello?"

His smile slipped a bit when nobody answered. He let the wind carry him to Jamie's window and pushed it open.

"Hello? Anybody here?" He called as he moved through the house. But there was nobody there. "Bunny probably took them to the Warren..."

Jack launched himself out a window, headed for the Pooka's domain.

There wasn't anybody there either. Not unless you counted the egglets and Golems. Jack tried to talk to them, and asked where everybody was. "Hey, where is everybody?" The little eggs hopped up and down for a bit and ran off. Jack turned to another bunch. "Where's Bunny? Do you guys know?"

This group began running in circles, pausing every now and then to look at him. "Okay, um... I don't understand what running in circles means... Um, when did you last see Bunny?" The egglets simply ran more circles, and Jack gave up on getting anything from them. "Maybe they're at the Pole..." he muttered as he took off.

"Wind, take me to North's Workshop!"

When Jack got to the Pole, he catapulted himself in through a window. "North? Are you here? North?" He wandered through the Workshop, looking for the big man.

"Arghablarghah?"

He whirled, then relaxed when he saw who it was.

"Oh, hey Phil. Have you seen North? Or Mary, or anybody? We were at Jamie's house, and I had to go spread Winter, and when I got back everybody was gone." Jack gave the same explanation as he'd given Bunny's eggs.

Phil shrugged. "Aghrablaygh."

"Not here, huh? Maybe they're at Tooth Palace...?"He sighed, letting the wind carry him.

Baby Tooth was ecstatic to see him when he arrived, though he was beginning to really worry. Tooth wasn't there, and hadn't been since she'd been called to the Pole. Jack couldn't think of anywhere else they might be. Unless... "No, it's impossible." he whispered aloud. "He couldn't be back already, it's only been four years..." Baby Tooth chirped questioningly, darting around Jack's head. "Baby Tooth, do you think it's possible Pitch has them?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry this chapter's so short, I wrote this at six am before going to sleep... Anyway, I finally got the plot moving! :D**


	15. What Really Happened

Bunnymund woke up to find himself surrounded by darkness. Feeling around, he realized he was in a cage. For a moment, he was confused. Hadn't they been at Jamie's house? Then the memories came flooding back and he groaned.

"Bunny? Is that you?" Tooth whispered from somewhere to his left.

"Yeah, it's me. I was jus' thinkin' how mad Frostbite'll be... We couldn't even protect 'is family."

"He surprised us, Bunny. We tried our best."

"But it wasn' enough, Tooth!" He hissed. His blood turned to ice at the next voice he heard.

"Bunny? That you? I'm scared, Bunny!" That was Sophie's voice.

"Don't be scared, Sophie! Jack will come and save us." And Jamie, too.

"That bloody sneakin' ratbag... Pitch got you two as well? Is yer Mum there?"

"I'm here. Anyone have some light?"

"Um... is Sandy here? Someone try to wake him up!" Tooth said.

A moment later, golden dreamsand began to shed light on each of them.

"I'm scared, where's my brother?" Bunny sighed in slight relief. Mary was there, too.

"He'll come, sheila. Just give 'im time ta get here."

He heard a groan to his right, and saw North sitting up. "How did we let this happen?" The Russian muttered.

Sandy frowned, and pictures of them being surprised and overwhelmed flew above his head, punctuated by numerous exclamation marks.

A dark figure stepped out of the shadows. "Well, well. I see everyone's awake."

"Pitch! Whaddya want wi' us?!" Bunnymund growled.

The boogeyman smiled sinisterly, displaying his pointed teeth. "Revenge. And what better way than watching me consume your precious Jack Frost using his dear little sister."

Mary gasped. "Don't you DARE hurt my brother!" She ordered, furious.

"How scared you are, child. You're afraid your brother will leave again, and worse, you're afraid you'll never see him again..." Pitch grinned. Mary's eyes widened.

"How- How did you know that?"

"Mary, don' lis'n to 'im, he's jus' messin' wi' ya!" Bunny called.

"Oh, am I? Tell me, did Jack Frost ever tell you what happened four years ago, on Easter Sunday?" Pitch paused at the confusion on their faces, especially Sandy's. "Did they not tell you, Sandman? They blamed Jack for ruining Easter, you know. But I'm sure they can tell you about that part."

Sandy turned to look at the others in disbelief. Jamie turned as well, staring at them in shock.

"I'll show you what _really_ happened that day, _Guardians_." Pitch snapped his fingers, and the shadows swirled around them, obscuring their vision. When they could see again, they looked around in confusion. They were still in Pitch's lair, but there were hundreds of cages hanging from the ceiling, each filled with mini-fairies. Pitch smirked. "Amazing what I can do with my illusions, isn't it? In this case, I can show you the past..." He faded into the shadows, leaving his prisoners to watch.

They heard wood splinter nearby, and whirled at the sound. "Jack?" Mary started at the sound of her own voice.

Jack appeared, Baby Tooth fluttering nervously near him, pulling at his sweater. "Baby- Baby Tooth, come on! I have to find out what that is!" he said, shrugging her off. He looked around, flying up to one of the cages. "Shh, keep it down! I'm gonna get you outta here just as soon as I-" He stopped.

"Jack?!"

"...As I can." He looked around, spotting the millions of memory boxes piled haphazardly on the floor.

"Jack..."

He let himself drop, landing among them. He scrambled around, looking for his own box.

"Looking for something?" Jack spun around, shooting ice in the direction of the voice. He leapt up, chasing it. Pitch laughed. "Don't be afraid, Jack. I'm not going to hurt _you_."

"Afraid? I'm not afraid of you," Jack said.

"Maybe not, but you are afraid of something."

"You think so, huh?" Pitch turned, a knowing smirk on his face.

"I know so. It's the one thing I always know, people's greatest fears... Yours is that no-one will ever believe in you,"

Jack yelped as the ground disappeared under his feet.

"And worst of all, you're afraid that you'll never know why. Why you, why were you chosen, to be like this?" Jack was backed up against a wall by then, and Pitch stepped out of the shadows in front of him. "Well, fear not, for the answer to that, is right here." Pitch held out a memory box. The picture on the side showed a boy wearing a smirk that could only be Jack's, but he had brown hair and eyes.

Jack stared at it, reaching out to grab it, but pulled back. "Do you want them, Jack? Your memories?" When Jack reached out, longing written on his face, Pitch disappeared, laughing. Jack followed his voice. "Everything you wanted to know, in this little box. How did you end up like this, unseen, unable to reach out to anyone? You want to grab them, and fly off with them, but you're afraid of what the _Guardians_ will think. You're afraid, of disappointing them. Well, let me ease your mind about one thing. They'll never accept you. Not really."

"Stop it,_ stop it_!" Jack wailed, trying to block out the voice. He looked up, and his family saw the terror on his face as Pitch stepped out of the shadows. Tooth began to cry.

"After all, you're not one of them."

"You don't know what I am!" Jack cried.

"'Course I do. You're Jack Frost, you make a mess wherever you go. Why, you're doing it right now." Pitch tossed him the box containing his memories, and he stared at it before looking up at Pitch.

"What did you do?"

"Not the point, Jack. What did _you_ do?" Pitch said, backing away into the shadows. Jack followed his laughter, stopping when a door slammed behind him.

"Baby Tooth!" He pounded on the door, but it wouldn't open.

He turned around, and his eyes widened in horror as he took in the colourful eggshells that littered the floor.

"Happy Easter, Jack."

Then everyone's vision blurred and they found themselves watching a child walk through Bunny. But the Pooka was standing right beside them...

"They can't see me..."

Bunnymund shivered. He could remember that day very well. He glanced at Sandy. The Sandman wasn't going to like this. He turned back to the illusion, forcing himself to watch.

Jack floated down to stand behind him, memories clutched tight in his hand and a look of pity and understanding on his face. Bunny hadn't noticed that look before.

"Jack, where were you? Pitch... He attacked the tunnels, crushed every egg, smashed... Every basket." North told him, and Jack turned, furrowing his brows.

"Jack!" Tooth called out, coming to hover beside North. She gasped, seeing the memory box. "Where did you get that?" Jack glanced down at the container.

"I was... I-"

"Where's Baby Tooth?" Jack only shook his head, unable to answer.

"That is why you weren't here? You were with _Pitch_?" Jack took a step back at the fury in North's voice, fear shining in his eyes.

"No... Listen... I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen!"Everyone who'd been there winced at the desperation in his tone and Bunny curled up in a ball. He didn't want to watch this.

"He has t' go." Jack turned around, eyes wide as he looked at the Pooka, silently begging him not to say this, but it was too late.

"We should NEVER have trusted you!" Bunny yelled, raising a fist and holding it above the winter spirit. He missed the way Jack flinched and backed away, though he backed off. "Easter's about new beginnings, it's about _hope_, and now it's gone." Bunny turned away from Jack, and the spirit of Winter turned to the others in desperation, only to be turned away. The hope faded from his eyes, and he slumped, pulling out the wooden figure North had given him. He eyed it before letting it fall.

A flash of white engulfed them, and they blinked, finding themselves somewhere in Antartica.

"Bloody- Look over there, mates!" Bunny shouted, pointing. There was a figure running toward a chasm, arm raised to throw something into it's icy depths. It was Jack. He stopped at the last second, looking at the item in his hand, his memory box. He sighed.

"I thought this might happen. They never really believed in you. I was just trying to show you that. But _I_ understand." Without warning, Jack whirled, shooting a blast of ice at the boogeyman.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING!" He screamed, shooting blast after blast at Pitch, who merely blocked each blow sent his way.

"NO?! I Don't understand what it's like to be, CAST OUT," He shouted and paused to send nightmare sand up to shield his face, causing snow to cloud Jack's vision. "To not be believed in! To long for, a _family_." Jack lowered his staff in surprise. "All those years in the shadows, I thought, no-one else knows what this feels like, but now I see I was wrong." Jack straightened, staring at Pitch. "We don't have to be alone, Jack. I believe in you, and I know children will too!"

"In me?" Jack asked hoarsely. Bunny's ears drooped slightly at the desperate tone in the winter spirit's voice, as he realized Jack had given up hope that someone would see him.

"Yes! Look, at what we can do!" Pitch gestured at the dark ice sculpture that had formed as a result of their fight. "What goes together better than cold and dark? We can make them believe! We'll give them a world, where everything, _everything_, is-"

"Pitch Black?" Jack asked, narrowing his eyes at the boogeyman, who paused in surprise.

"And Jack Frost, too. They'll believe in both of us." Jack shook his head.

"No, they'll fear both of us. And that's not what I want. Now, for the last time, leave me alone."

Pitch sneered. "Very well, you want to be left alone. _Done_. But first..." He held out his hand.

"Baby Tooth!" The little fairy chirped helplessly as Pitch squeezed her.

"The staff, Jack! You have a bad habit of interfering. Now hand it over, and I'll let her go."

Jack sighed heavily, and handed it over. "Alright, now let her go."

"No." Jack stared at Pitch in shock and Baby Tooth squeaked indignantly. "You said you wanted to be alone. So BE alone!" She screwed up her face defiantly and stabbed her beak into her captor's thumb. Pitch responded by throwing her at a glacier. She hit the side and fell into a crevasse.

"No.." Jack said, watching helplessly as Pitch grasped his staff and snapped it. Everyone winced at Jack's agonized cry. Pitch hurled nightmare sand at Jack, who'd curled in on himself. He hit the glacier with a pained thud and fell unconsious into the crevasse. Pitch threw the remains of his staff in with him.

The illusion faded, leaving them back in cages. Sandy immediately began making dreamsand images above his head, glaring at his fellow Guardians for leaving Jack when he needed them.

Mary had started crying at the sight of her brother getting hurt, and Mrs. Bennett rushed to comfort her.

Bunny sank to the ground, ears against his head. "How could I... No wonder he flinched like that when I said, when I said he had to leave..." He whispered.


	16. Cold and Dark

Jack was angry. How dare Pitch take his sister, his_ family_. He was going to make that man pay, Jack decided as he flew above Burgess, searching for the little clearing within which he knew he'd find a dark hole. He found it almost immediately, thanks to the little bed standing over it. He smirked. Piece of cake, though he was _sure_ that bed had been destroyed four years earlier...

Jack jumped into the hole, keeping his staff ready.

He looked around cautiously, noting the cages that had held the mini-fairies were gone.

"Jack!" He looked down. His family was there, staring up at him from within a cage. Pitch put his family in cages. His eyes flashed dangerously as he darted down to them.

"Here, take everyone and get out of here," He whispered, freezing the lock open. "I don't want you to get frostbite or hypothermia."

Tooth narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Jack smirked. "I've been holding my powers in for a while, and I always wanted to see what a blizzard would do if I unleashed it inside."

Bunny's eyes widened. "You're gonna unleash one a' your blizzards in here?" The winter spirit nodded.

"This place is too... warm. Pitch once asked me what went better than cold and dark, and I think he should eat his words. Oh, here. Take my cape. I don't want it to get shredded too badly." The Pooka nodded slowly at Jack's reasoning, taking the cloth, and North laughed.

"That is good idea!" North said, "But first, Mary fell asleep and won't wake up."

"What?"

Sandy floated over, making his sand form an image of Pitch, followed by Mary, and then Jack falling into a frozen lake. Pitch was giving her nightmares of Jack dying.

Jack was not angry anymore. He was furious. "Get her out of here. Now."

Bunny had never seen the winter spirit like this before. He'd seriously underestimated him. They all had. Bunny thought of the severity of the storm Jack had caused on Easter in '68, and he realized that Jack had only been mildly upset then. If Jack made a blizzard in here, on purpose, and put all his anger into it, it would be far worse than anything the Pooka had ever experienced. The result would probably be something like an indoor ice age.

Children rarely get truly angry. And it seemed Jack was a child. A very powerful child who was about to throw a very bad temper tantrum, Bunny realized.

"Sophie, Jamie, c'mere a minute." They did, and Bunny waited for them to before he continued. "Here, climb up 'n hold on tight. We're get'n outta here now. North, you get Mary, and Sandy, you help Sophie's mother out." Bunny looked around, realizing he wasn't sure where the exit was. "Uh, Frostbite? How're we supposed to get outta here if we don' know where th' door is?"

Jack was surprised. "Oh, um, it's that way." He said, pointing. "But I would have thought you'd have known that, seeing as you've fought Pitch so many times and all..."

The others looked away, embarrassed, because Jack was right. They should have known. They trudged away in the direction he'd pointed, eventually coming out under the decayed bed.

They crawled out, sitting down nearby. Bunny stared at it. "How'd we not see tha' thing before?"

Inside, Jack waited until they were safely out before shouting. "Hey, Pitch! I know you're in here! Well, remember when you asked me what went better than cold and dark?! I decided you were right! So here's your cold!" He closed his eyes and screamed wordlessly, slamming his staff down as hard as he could and flew up into the new blizzard.

All sounds receded as Jack let all his anger into the storm. The wind helped, gleefully twisting around the floating boy, moving as fast as it could, pushing snow and ice into every corner, making sure nothing was safe from the winter spirit's fury. The snow Jack had summoned turned to ice at his command, stabbing the shadows themselves. Pitch, who had tried to take refuge in these shadows, found himself pinned to the wall by his robe.

The others were staring at the entrance to Pitch's lair. When Jack screamed, Bunny winced. His hearing was much more sensitive than the others, but all could hear the pain and anger in his cry. Shortly after, they had to duck as ice shot out of the hole, the bed taking the brunt of the attack.

Bunny stared at what remained of the bed. The ice had managed to turn the flimsy wood into kindling. "Bloody.. I dunno 'bout you mates, but I've never seen ice do that kind of damage b'fore."

North shook his head. "I haven't either. How is Jack so nice? We ignored him for three hundred years, he was not mad at us, just annoyed. Now... He is mad."

Sandy nodded solemnly.

"Jack's just a child. How could we ignore him that long?" Tooth whispered, shivering as a stray blast of icy air blew past them. "He's just a child."

Bunny shrugged. "Snowflake's always so happy, he doesn' like t' show 'is pain, 'n we We misjudged 'im."

Jamie thought of something suddenly and looked up worriedly. "Hey, Bunny? Will Jack's storm hurt him?"

The Pooka was startled. "I dunno mate, but it'll hurt Pitch a lot more." They winced as Jack screamed again.

"I wish he wouldn't do that..." Tooth said, worried. "I keep thinking he's hurt."

"Tha's 'cause he is, Tooth. He's screamin' out his anger. Y'know, havin' a temper tantrum, like all kids do."

Mrs. Bennett stared at an ice dagger embedded in a tree nearby. "He'll be okay, right?"

"Guardians are strong, do not worry." North assured her. "But then... So is Pitch."

Jack's indoor blizzard raged for six hours before letting up. Sandy decided to stay outside with the still sleeping Mary, as the others dashed in to find what looked like a completely different place. Ice coated everything, three or four feet thick in some places, and snow was falling gently.

Their eyes gravitated toward the figure lying on the ice.

"Jack!" Tooth cried, darting over to him. Bunny followed, bounding across the slippery surface.

He checked the boy for injuries, and was happy to find none. "'E's okay!" He called to the others, who were having trouble navigating across the ice.

Jamie looked around. "Whoa... This is so cool! Where's Pitch?"

Sophie spotted him first. "There!" She said, pointing. They stared. The boogeyman was backed against a wall, encased within at least four feet of ice.

North picked up the sleeping winter spirit and Bunny opened his arms. "Here, mate. I'll take 'im." North nodded and passed the boy over.

Bunnymund blinked in surprise as he realized how light Jack was. The boy shifted in his arms, burying his nose in Bunny's fur as he sighed contentedly.

"He looks so small when he's asleep, doesn't 'e? He's as light as a feather." North nodded.

"He told me he and his sister hadn't eaten properly in three hundred years." Mrs. Bennett said. "That probably explains why."

The Guardians looked at each other, shocked. They hadn't even thought Jack might not have had anything to eat, much less his sister. They both looked so cheerful all the time.

"And we left them alone, that whole time... How could we?" Tooth asked, feeling guilty. She could have done something. They all could have.


	17. Deathly Sleep

Bunnymund carefully deposited Jack on his bed in Santoff Claussen. The boy shifted in his sleep, but didn't wake up. Bunny stepped back with the other Guardians to look at him. They'd sent Jamie and Sophie to bed. North, having way too much time on his hands in the summertime, had prepared rooms for them both. Mrs. Bennett had been tired, and went to lie down as well. She was in a slightly more generic room.

"'E looks a lot more innocent when he's asleep, doesn't he?" The others nodded. "He's so... still when he's sleepin'. First time I caught 'im asleep, I nearly 'ad a heart attack. Though he was dead, y'know?"

Tooth nodded. "Yeah, he did that to me once, too." She smiled as Jack mumbled something and buried himself into the covers.

"I went to see if 'is heart was beatin' an' he woke up. Never seen anyone wake up that fast before." Bunny continued.

"Lets go see if Mary is awake, no? We will try to wake her." North declared, trying to be quiet and failing. Jack slept through the disturbance, turning away from the noise.

"Well, he looks less dead when you can't see his face..." Tooth said.

Mary wasn't awake, but it was clear that her dreams were not pleasant. Sandy frowned. It was his job to make sure the children had good dreams every night, and he hated seeing children with nightmares.

"Do you think you can wake 'er up, Sandy? Bunny asked quietly.

Sandy frowned deeper, but nodded determinedly. He hated waking people up, but the nightmare wouldn't leave her alone otherwise. He glanced at the others. "Wake up," he whispered, making the Guardians start. They'd never heard him talk before. "Wake up!" Mary jerked awake, tears running down her face.

"Jack!" She scrambled to her feet, looking for her brother. "Where's Jack?" She asked, lip trembling.

"Still asleep. Is important to let him rest." North said.

"I need him, I had a nightmare... Jack... I need to see him!" Mary ran past the Guardians, headed for her brother's room.

"Wait, ya can' go in there! He's tryin' to sleep!" Bunny shouted, trying to catch her before she saw the winter spirit. He failed, and she slipped into the room. They followed the girl, wincing when she began to cry.

"You said he was just asleep... You... You lied!" She said, staring at her motionless brother surrounded by piles of snow.

"He is asleep, sheila. He always looks like this." Bunny told her. "Part o' bein' a winter spirit, I guess." He noted with slight annoyance that it was snowing gently.

Pippa bit her lip. "Okay... If he's just asleep... Can I wake him up?"

Tooth came forward a bit. "He made a blizzard in Pitch's lair after he got us out, he's exhausted. He probably won't wake up for another hour, at least."

"Like he is after he works in a field all day, right?"

"Well, I guess so..."

Mary nodded. "Then I can wake him up." She climbed onto her brother's bed, shivering as she stepped in some snow. "Jack, if you don't get up right now, I'm gonna do this the _hard_ way!" She called. Jack didn't move. "Okay, have it your way, Jack! Wake up!" She jumped, landing on her brother's chest.

"Oomph!" Jack grunted as his breath was knocked out of him. He tried to roll over, but Mary wouldn't let him. She smirked, putting her hands on his belly and began tickling.

"Frostbite's ticklish! He's ticklish!" Bunny laughed, as Jack flailed, gasping for breath and trying to get away.

Jack managed to escape his sister's torture by falling off the bed and knocking the wind out of himself. As soon as he caught his breath, he shot up to the ceiling, where he hovered, glaring at Bunny.

"So what if I'm ticklish, I don't turn into a cute, fluffy little bunny-rabbit when people stop believing in me!" He called. Bunny stopped laughing.

"I told you never to mention that!" Mary burst out in giggles.

"You turn into a fluffy bunny rabbit? That is just..." She stopped, laughing too hard to continue.

Jack was convulsing in laughter on the ceiling where Bunny couldn't get at him. "Your... Face!" He choked out, pointing at Bunny.

Sandy took one look at the indignant expression on the Pooka's face and joined Jack on the ceiling, shaking in silent merriment. The laughter in the room was infectious, and soon enough Tooth and North had joined in.

Bunny decided that they weren't going to stop anytime soon and pulled out an egg, trying unsuccessfully to ignore them.

"What's everybody laughing about?" Asked a sleepy voice. Jack stopped laughing in surprise as Jamie crawled out from under his bed.

"Jamie, why were you under my bed?" He asked, and Jamie looked sheepishly at him.

"I wanted to sleep near you, and it was the warmest place in the room. 'Sides, I wanted to make sure Pitch couldn't get you."

"Oh," Jack said. "I guess that makes sense. Sorry for waking you up, we were laughing at Bunny."

Jamie smiled. "Were you laughing because he gets really cute and small when people stop believing?"

Jack nodded, smirking. "You know me so well."

Bunny felt he had to preserve his dignity, and said, "At least I'm not ticklish."

"No way. Jack Frost is ticklish?!" Jamie grinned. Jack made sure he was out of reach before he replied.

"Maybe. But _you_ know how Bunny likes being scratched under the chin, don't you, Jamie?" The boy nodded and everyone broke out in fresh waves of laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Said the Pooka, trying to shrug it off. "I don' scare people half to death when I'm sleepin'."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, confused.

"You don't know? You look like you're dead when you sleep, Jack! You're so pale, and when you're still... It's just..." Tooth said, "It scares us sometimes."

"I look like I'm dead when I sleep." Jack repeated. He smirked. "So that one time Bunny... And when Tooth..." They nodded sheepishly and Jack burst out laughing again. "Now I know why... The expressions on your faces when I woke up... Priceless!"

Mary remembered her nightmare and gasped. "Jack! I had a nightmare, and... And you died, and then I came in here, and you weren't moving..." Jack stopped laughing and hugged his sister.

"Hey, hey. Look at me, okay? I'm okay. And you won't have any more nightmares, okay?" He said, and she frowned slightly.

"Why not?"

Jack smirked. "Remember when I told you that I was gonna beat the boogeyman up if he gave you another nightmare?" She nodded. "I did better than that. I made a blizzard in his lair, and he's frozen under four feet of ice now."


	18. Mom

Mary tried to muffle her giggling as she glanced up at her brother. He grinned back at her. The two of them were situated behind a strategically placed shrub in Bunnymund's Warren, waiting for the Pooka to fall for their latest prank.

"This is gonna be awesome." Jack whispered, snickering. "Jamie even lent me his camera!"

"Of course he did, this was your best prank idea yet!" She responded eagerly. She leaned forward, peeking out at the tunnel Bunny was going to come out of.

"Any minute now..." he murmured, getting the camera ready.

"I can hear him!" Mary said suddenly. "He's here!"

Jack barely had time to shush her before the Pooka bounded out of the tunnel.

Bunny had no time to react. One minute he was bounding out of a tunnel, the next he was sliding on ice he hadn't seen. "Jack Frost!" he yelled, trying to keep his balance as he slipped across the ice. His ears picked up faint sounds of barely contained laughter coming from a bush that he could have sworn hadn't been there before. His eyes widened as he realized he wasn't just sliding across some ice, he was sliding down a hill in the direction of the Dye Pools.

He barely had time to groan before the icy slide deposited him in the colourful water.

Bunny came out of the Pools seething. He glared at the shrub as he shook himself dry, sighing as his fur immediately fluffed out. He froze for a moment as he heard a small click followed by laughter.

"Frostbite, get out here. You too, Mary." Bunny commanded, crossing his arms as menacingly as possible. The two miscreants revealed themselves, both choking on laughter.

"That was... The funniest thing..."

"Best prank you ever... And on _camera_, too!" they burst out in giggles again.

"What, what's so funny this time?" Bunny asked, glaring at them. "I only slipped on some ah your ice, which I've done _many_ times, an' fell into the Dye Pools... Oh." He groaned, looking down at himself.

His fur, usually a nice light gray, was now a beautiful shade of pink. And it was still fluffy.

"Oh, it's on, Frostbite. It's on." He growled, staring at the mischief-makers. They exchanged looks, and Mary grabbed her brother's hand. Bunny's eyes narrowed and he thumped the ground, already opening a tunnel to Burgess. He jumped in, mentally cursing Mary's teleporting skills just as the siblings disappeared.

Jamie was waiting for them. "Did it work? Did'ja get a picture? I wanna see it!" He chanted, bouncing on his bed.

Jack chuckled at his excitement but winced slightly as he heard ringing in his ears. "Ah, Mary, let's stick to flying now, please!" Mary nodded, clutching at her own ears. "And yeah, it worked. You should have seen his face, best prank_ ever_!"

Mary's eyes lit up. "He'll be here in a second, you'll get to see his face in person!" She laughed.

Jack smirked. "Oh, and by the way... Here's your camera. If Bunny asks, I never had it!"

Jamie opened his mouth to reply, but a very irate Bunnymund popped into the room before he could. The three of them took one look at the fuchsia rabbit and doubled over in hysterics.

"Wha's so funny about this, eh?" He said, glaring at them. "You jus' stay still, now, an' I'll just..." He pounced, just barely missing the winter spirit. Jack grabbed Jamie's hand as Mary climbed onto his back.

"Hey, Wind! Take me to North's!" He yelled as he jumped out the open window, pulling Jamie and Mary with him.

Some time later found them perched on top of North's globe, where the frustrated Pooka couldn't reach them. North, Sandy, and Tooth watched in amusement as Bunny and Jack exchanged their customary threats and insults.

"If ya don' geddown here right now, Frostbite, I'll-"

"You'll what? Throw an egg at me?" Jack smirked, knowing the rabbit wouldn't dare.

"Maybe I will!" Bunny bluffed, glancing nervously at North. He didn't want the big man to make him clean the globe. Again. He thought back to a previous accident and shuddered.

Mary rolled her eyes. It was time to intervene as any little sister would. "Mom, Jack and Bunny are fighting again!" She called. Then she realized what she'd just said and cringed, staring at Tooth.

The Guardian of Memories looked like she was close to tears, putting her hands over her mouth and widening her eyes. "She called me Mom!" She gasped, darting around excitedly. "She called me Mom!" The boys stopped arguing to see what would happen.

"Tooth, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Mary began.

"No, no, I'm happy! I'd love to be your mom!" Tooth squealed, sweeping her up in a hug. "Same for Jack! And Bunny, too!" She cried, darting over to hug Jack as well, before rushing around the room in excitement, beaming widely at everyone she saw.

Jack smiled at her words and Bunny protested, holding his arms up. "Tooth, whadd'ya mean, 'Bunny too?' I don't... I'm not a kid!"

Tooth whirled, facing him. "Nonsense! You're Jack and Mary's older brother! That makes me your Mom, too!" North's eyes lit up, and he smiled hopefully at Mary. "Does this make me Dad?"

When Mary nodded shyly, he laughed. "Sandy, did you hear that! I am a Father!"

Sandy smiled excitedly, flashing some dreamsand images at North, who stared at the pictures for a moment before chuckling. "Of course you can be Uncle, Sandy!"

The golden man grinned, clapping happily, and Jack gazed proudly around the room at his odd family.

**I can honestly say I never expected this to last so long. I thought I'd write seven, maybe eight chapters, and end it there, but here I am, concluding at chapter 18. I want to thank all my readers, you guys are amazing. And I also want to thank all the awesome people who reviewed, reading those makes me smile every time. I know I responded to all of those that I can, thanking them, but I wanted to make sure the people I can't respond to (You know, the anons and the people with blocked PMs.) know I really appreciate it. :D I wish I could give you a more spectacular ending, but I am awful at writing the end of anything. I've done what I can, anyway. I would love to write a sequel or some thing, maybe a drabble series based on this? But for now at least, school has to take priority. Sorry this last chapter was so late, I got off Winter Break on Monday and hadn't had time to write until now. I hope you liked it. Anyway, thank you, everybody. This has been awesome. :)**


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